SkyClan's Tale
by Mo0ngazer
Summary: Our story begins with an ordinary rust-colored kittypet, a lot like another tale we are all familiar with... Follow the journey of the lively kittypet Phoenix as she decides where she really belongs. PLEASE read & review! Spoilers! T for battle and death.
1. Allegiances & Prologue

Our story begins with an ordinary, rust colored kittypet, a lot like another tale we are all familiar with...

_**Allegiances**_

**_SkyClan_**

**Leader:** _Leafstar _– Brown-and-cream tabby she-cat with amber eyes

**Deputy:** _Sharpclaw_ – Dark ginger tom

**Medicine Cat:** _Echosong_ – Silver tabby she-cat with green eyes

**Warriors:**

_Cherrytail_ – Tortoiseshell she-cat  
**Apprentice:** Rockpaw

_Sparrowpelt_ – Dark brown tabby tom  
**Apprentice**: Tinypaw

_Patchfoot_ - black-and-white tom  
**Apprentice**: Bouncepaw

_Clovertail_ – Light brown she-cat with white belly and legs

**Apprentices:**

_Tinypaw_ – Small white she-cat

_Bouncepaw_ – Ginger tom

_Rockpaw_ – Black tom

**Queens:**

_Petalnose_ – Pale gray she-cat

**Kits:**

_Mintkit_ - Gray tabby she-cat

_Sagekit_-pale gray tom

_**Cats Outside of Clans**_

Phoenix – Lively, fire-colored she-cat with gray-blue eyes and powerful haunches; a kittypet

Teddy – Small, pale-brown tom with darker stripes and bright green eyes and strong back legs; a kittypet

* * *

**_Chapter 1_: Prologue**

Phoenix crouched beside the door, her tail twitching. A cool wind whistled across the window, and the sky outside was a murky, unpleasant gray. It was almost leaf-fall. She was about five moons old and a rather powerful-looking cat for one so young. Her gray-blue eyes stared hungrily outside, but her twolegs were oblivious to Phoenix's desire to escape to the outdoors she had never visited.

She mewed pitifully, but the twoleg female simply scratched her behind the ear and walked to the door. Phoenix darted after her, but the twoleg stuck her foot out and stopped her. She pushed Phoenix backwards, and the kitten tripped and was rolled over onto her back.

Before she could scramble up and jump out after her, the door snapped shut.

* * *


	2. Chapter 1: Escape

_**Chapter 2:**_** Escape**

Day after day Phoenix had tried to get outside and explore, and day after day she was stuck inside. For an entire moon, she was trapped inside the twolegs' nest with nothing to do and no one to play with. For all her life, it had been warm Greenleaf, and the twoleg kits had stayed inside and played with her or each other. But now, they got up early every day, and were chased out of the house at a much earlier hour. The grown twolegs were always gone early.

The days turned to a lull of bright sunlight and naps in warm patches of sunlight, and Phoenix started to have odd dreams. She scarcely ever remembered them, but they smelled of the wild outdoors, and made her longing to escape even more powerful. Her boredom and pent up energy made Phoenix feel like she was going to explode, so when she woke up on that murky, windy day, she decided that today she _would_ get outside.

The twoleg female was packing up her odd-looking things into a sack, and Phoenix watched her innocently from a perch on the windowsill. She had had one of those dreams again, and though she had forgotten most of it, she could remember stars, many, many cats, and a bright green eyes. When she had seen those eyes, Phoenix had awoken shaking and whimpering in fear and grief, though she had no idea why. Unable to fall back to sleep, Phoenix had come up with a plan to escape.

The twoleg had already sent her kits off to ride away in their big yellow monster, and now she would leave in her smaller blue one. Phoenix knew the story. She was ready.

The twoleg female bent to pick up her sack, and phoenix leapt. She landed on the hard shiny surface where the twolegs kept a whole lot of stuff, and kicked a cylindrical thing off the surface. It landed with a satisfying clatter on the floor, and the twoleg made an annoyed sound. Phoenix mewed innocently, and then shot towards her sack. She buried herself beneath all the weird objects and, being so small, managed to hide.

The twoleg picked up her sack, grumbling, and started walking. The smell of twoleg and the sack and what seemed to be _food_ confused Phoenix, but the door clicked open, and then clicked shut, and there was no mistaking that clear, wild smell.

Phoenix was outside.

The twoleg female set down her bag and started to look for something in her odd, blue pelt. Phoenix was unprepared for what would happen out here, having never seen it, and streaked out the opening in the top of the sack, hoping that her bright fur would not bring unwanted attention to her escape.

Phoenix shot into an evergreen bush, squeezing her eyes shut against the needles, and waited until she heard the monster roar out onto the thunderpath, poked uncomfortably by the bush's branches. As soon as the sound of her twoleg's monster faded, she sucked in her stomach and pulled herself out of the bush, and into the light. Shaking the needles and twigs out of her fur, she arched her back in a stretch and turned to look around the yard.


	3. Chapter 2: Outside

_**Chapter 3:**_** Outside**

The twolegs' yard was a windswept square of scraggly, unkempt grass, but around it were bushes, flowers, and a couple of trees. The entire garden and twoleg nest were enclosed by a high stone wall, and on one side, Phoenix could see a higher wall around the garden of the nest next door. A gate opened to leave the front of the garden, but that was it. She was trapped.

Sinking to the ground in horror, Phoenix wondered how she could have thought this was a good idea. She squeezed her eyes shut, as if to make it go away, and calmed herself. Then she opened her eyes again and looked for a safe way in and out.

Then she realized that the largest tree, a maple that dipped low on both sides of the highest wall, which stood only a tail-length above her wall, like a big stair. Around the yard, the wind chased a few dead leaves across the grass, and a bird flitted around the flowerbeds before landing on the higher wall, near the tree.

Phoenix leapt about chasing the leaves, letting her worries blow away with the cool leaf-fall wind. This was enough to amuse her, and maybe she could climb that tree and have a look around, or slip out through the gate. And when she was hungry, maybe she could _catch_ some food!

That idea excited her enough so that she stopped playing around, and looked up at the bird pecking at the wall. Instinct was all she had to guide her out here, and she dropped into a crouch, her tail twitching. Phoenix pulled herself forward slowly, feeling forward with each paw before stepping to avoid stepping on a stick or dead leaf. Then she wriggled her haunches and shot forward through the grass.

With a huge leap, Phoenix hurtled through the air towards her prey, the cool air rushing through her fur and her heart soaring with her leap. There was a rustle on the other side of the wall, and the bird looked up, realizing almost too late that there was a kitten flying towards her. She twittered in alarm, and took off. There was a thunk behind the wall, and for a second, Phoenix saw a bit of pale brown fur with darker stripes, and then it disappeared, and there was another thump as something hit the ground on the other side of the wall. Confused and irritated and hardly registering what was going on, Phoenix hit the top wall with a huge and painful WHOMP.

Phoenix lay still for a second, sore all over. The throbbing was the worst in her chest and head, and she groaned with disappointment and humiliation. After several heartbeats, she realized that her own labored breathing was not the only sound she could hear: there was something or someone nearby who was panting as well.

Phoenix opened her eyes and looked around. The yard of the twolegs next door was very pretty; there were a lot more flowers, a few large, blossoming bushes, and a couple smaller trees. Her twolegs' tree dipped over the wall, hanging like a curtain over that patch of rather better-kept grass. Then she looked down.

It was a dizzying drop for her, nearly six tail-lengths high, but that wasn't what made her stare. A heap of fur was slumped against the bottom of the wall, breathing hard, and pale brown in color, with… darker stripes! That kit had tried to catch the bird, too, and she had seen him try and make the jump he had fallen short of.

"Hello?" Phoenix leaned forward and called out. "Are you okay?"

The kit below groaned and heaved himself up. He shook his head to clear it, then turned and fixed her with a shy gaze. A gaze of chilling familiarity.

A bright green gaze.


	4. Chapter 3: Teddy

**_Chapter 4:_ Teddy**

Phoenix's eyes widened in surprise. Those were the same eyes she had seen in her dream! She had woken so afraid – was this kit a kit to fear?

But he looked up at her, smaller than she was, looking about a moon or two older than her, and definitely more innocent than she was. She could fight him, but somehow, she knew she didn't need to.

He shook his head vigorously, and then looked shyly back at Phoenix.

"I'm fine", he mewed uncertainly. "Are you… what's your name?"

"My name's Phoenix", she replied. "What's yours?"

"Teddy", said the kit. "What's a phoenix?"

"It's a bird of _fire_", replied Phoenix loftily. "Didn't you know?

"No," said Teddy in admiration. "I can see where your name came from, though," he added. "Where do you live? Over that wall?"

"Yeah," said Phoenix,"But your garden is much nicer than mine," she added in admiration, looking around at the flowers. "How old are you?"

"Seven moons," said Teddy after some thought. "Yeah, that's it. You?"

"Six," returned Phoenix. "Your twolegs sure did some work on those flowers," she added flatteringly. "What kind are they?"

"No idea," Teddy mewed, glancing around. "Want to have a look around?"

"Yeah!" said Phoenix enthusiastically, and then with more dignity, she added, "Sure, I'd love to." She jumped down. She was hardly even nervous about it; she was too excited to be finally meeting another kit! She'd been stuck alone all this time, and was keen on making a good impression.

Teddy showed her around the beautiful garden, through the soft grass and beneath huge ferns and among tiny plants and tiny trees that were turning orange and red.

"So you come outside _every day_?" gasped Phoenix. "I haven't even come outside one other time; I couldn't find a _tree_ in my garden!"

"Why not?" asked Teddy. "Twolegs?" Phoenix nodded. "Mmmhmm…" he said thoughtfully. "How'd you get out today?"

"I_ told_ you that," said Phoenix in exasperation; they had basically told each other their (rather short) life stories. "I hid in her sack thingy and -"

"Oh right, I remember," said Teddy. I wasn't allowed outside until I was… six moons, I think." He flicked his tail towards the door of his nest, where a cat flap fluttered in the slight breeze.

Phoenix nodded. "Hopefully my twolegs will get one of those sometime soon." There was silence for a moment. It was another cool, murky day, and the cold wind was exhilarating. Soon, the two kits were running around, racing each other, and play fighting. By noon, the sun was out and shining brightly, and Teddy and Phoenix were sound asleep in the tall grass, worn out from the morning's excitement.

When Phoenix awoke, she stared at the sky for a moment before waking up her friend.

"Teddy!" she mewed. "Wake _up_ already!"

"Mmmphg," he rolled over and blinked awake. "Aawww, why'd you wake me up?" Teddy whined. "I was having a good dream." He yawned and stood up to stretch.

"About what?" Phoenix asked with interest.

"Ummm… I forget," he thought about it for a heartbeat. "No, it was… stars… and cats… and green eyes!"

"I had the same dream last night!" Phoenix gasped._ But… he couldn't be that cat I was scared of if he had the same dream!_ She added to herself, relieved.

"What d'you think it means?" pressed Teddy. "Is it a sign or something?"

"I dunno…" Suddenly, Phoenix remembered another part of the dream: a sunset behind a high stone wall. She turned around and looked at the walls surrounding them. But the sun set behind the twoleg nest; if it was setting behind a wall, then you'd have to be on the other side of the back wall, out towards the mountains where the sun rose.

And speaking of sunsets…

She heard a door somewhere slam shut. Her twolegs were home!

"I've got to go!" exclaimed Phoenix.

"Oh-okay," said Teddy, taken aback. "Come back tomorrow!" he added.

"I'll try!" Phoenix yowled back as she flew across the yard. Leaping for the tree that hung over the garden wall, she clawed her way up the branch. Twigs and leaves snapped back against her face and sides as she heaved herself over the top wall and onto hers. She waved her tail in farewell, and then leapt down into her garden.


	5. Chapter 4: Freedom

_**Chapter 5**_**: Freedom **

The next morning, the sunlight was blinding and the wind warm. Every five days, it seemed, the twolegs would stay home for a period of two days, relax, all leave together, or something odd like that; the important thing was, they weren't leaving like they usually did, so Phoenix couldn't either.

Normally, Phoenix enjoyed these staying-home days; she could play with the kits and things were much more interesting and pleasant. But today, she was restless after her escape yesterday; she was itching to go out and explore, play with Teddy, and here she was. Stuck inside again.

So she moped around in the kitchen for a while before realizing she was in luck; a window open while the twoleg female prepared a meal. Phoenix pretended to be asleep on a patch of sunlight, and when the twoleg bustled out to get something, she leapt outside.

Her yard was full of dappled sunlight, thrown from the leaves of the overgrown trees onto the unkempt grass. Phoenix heard something banging, and looked around to see the twoleg male hitting the door over and over with some kind of stick. She flattened herself into the grass and streaked across the yard, and, with a tremendous leap, jumped into the maple tree by the wall. She darted nimbly up to the top branches, onto her wall, and up to the higher one.

She yowled as she jumped down; "Teddy!"

* * *

It had been a long day. They play-fought, raced, had jumping contests, snored, tried to hunt on several occasions, and talked about the dreams.

"I think it probably is a sign of some kind," Phoenix had mewed, nodding.

"I figured it probably is," Teddy had agreed. He too could remember the sunset wall, when pressed. "Otherwise why'd we have the same dream?" They could think of no other explanation, so they decided this was the correct one, and promptly forgot it.

Now, Phoenix was heaving herself back over her wall.

"I'll be back tomorrow," she mock-threatened him; he had just beaten her in another jumping contest. "You just wait. I'll get you one day!"

"You can try!" her friend yowled after her. "But you never will!"

They both laughed, and Phoenix leapt into her tree, and down into her yard, hoping that the kitchen window was open. She stalked up to it, but it was closed. "Rats!" she hissed angrily. Now how was she supposed to get in?

Phoenix decided to see if there were any other open windows around; it had been a warm day. She looked along the side of the nest, then the front, and the other side, but the only open windows were way up high. So Phoenix turned around hopelessly to the back of the house, and realized what the twoleg male had been doing to the door.

He had been putting in a cat flap. Her heart nearly bursting with gratitude, she slinked inside, staying low and in the shadows of the kitchen. Once she had escaped to a cool, dark corner of the house, she laid down and gave herself a thorough wash.

Phoenix was just dozing off when she realized what the full extent of the cat flap was; she could not only get _in_, but she could also get_ out._ She could come and go as she pleased. Phoenix smiled and curled up to sleep.


	6. Chapter 5: Dreaming

_**Chapter 6**_**: Dreaming**

The creature stalked through the undergrowth, its green eyes glowing. It glanced around, angling its ears towards the tiny scuffling in a nearby tree. Dropping into a stalking crouch, it crept noiselessly towards the sound of its prey. Suddenly it leapt.

The creature's jump carried it all the way up into the tree, its small lithe body whooshing through the branches until it landed on top of its prey, pinning the animal down. It squealed, but the creature held on. Phoenix yowled and thrashed, but it would not let go of her. Its sharp white teeth glowed in the moonlight as it swallowed her whole, and she still didn't even know what kind of animal it was—

She was floating. She soared over the clouds, the stars around her, brushing her pelt. She alighted on a cloud and looked at two of the stars. They were close together, coming towards her—they were eyes. They were green eyes.

She started back in horror, but as they approached, she saw that they were full of kindness and understanding. And then their voice spoke:

"Follow your heart, and wherever you go, your heart will follow you there." The voice was familiar, and yet she knew she had never heard it. Had she? Phoenix didn't know. She hadn't even realized she was dreaming.

Then the eyes filled with sadness, and so did Phoenix, but she had no idea why. Suddenly, her vision filled with crimson, spreading and blossoming like water, or—

Phoenix awoke shaking and whimpering in fear and grief. But she could hardly remember the dream at all.


	7. Chapter 6: Exploration

**_Chapter 7:_**** Exploration **

About a week later, Phoenix leapt down from the same wall, into the same yard, calling out to the same kit, but full of new excitement.

"Teddy!" she yowled. "Hey, Teddy! I got an idea this morning, are you here, hello? Teddy!"

Teddy trotted out of his cat flap, looking around. "Phoenix?" She soared from the wall and bounded over to him.

"How about we go outside? Like, over the wall? Right? How come we didn't think of that already?" Phoenix was bouncing around him, bursting with excitement.

"That's a _great_ idea!" exclaimed Teddy. "I bet I can jump over the wall before you," he added.

"Oh, no you _can't_," cried Phoenix, leaping onto his back and bowling him over. She grinned evilly before tearing off towards the wall.

"Not fair!" cried Teddy, leaping up and rocketing off after her.

"But you _always_ win!" yowled Phoenix, bounding onto the branch of a low bush before propelling herself straight up to the top of the wall.

"Hey!" Teddy was far behind; he jumped from where he was and soared straight up to the wall just as Phoenix left the ground. Phoenix landed, on her chest, on top of the wall with an almighty WHOMP, and Teddy sailed onto it next to her, flailing, scrabbled for a hold, and laughed out loud as he gained his balance.

"Ha ha!" cried Teddy. "I did it! Told you!"

"Not _fair_!" whined Phoenix. But Teddy's moment of glory was short-lived; his momentum had carried him too far – "_Teddy!"_ screeched Phoenix, scrambling forward, but he tipped right over the edge.

With a "_Yeeow_!" of terror, Teddy plunged off the wall, and twisting in midair, landed hard on his paws before crumpling to the ground.

"Teddy!" cried Phoenix again, leaping down the six foot drop after him and scrambling up as she landed. The crabgrass was tough and pointy, but her pads had always been tough. She nudged him. "Teddy!" she mewed urgently. "You okay?"

"Mmmphg," he groaned. "Yeah… I'm okay. All I broke is my hip bone and my face. Owww…" he added. Teddy heaved himself up, hobbled a few tail-lengths, and then turned to face Phoenix, grinning.

"We made it!" he announced.

* * *

The two kits were soon chasing each other across the grassy expanse, poking at the strange plants, admiring the majestic mountains, and running after leaves and birds.

"Look at that! – it's a… like a canyon or a gorge or something!" exclaimed Phoenix. "Let's go have a look!" she careened towards it, and Teddy tore off after her, recovered from his fall.

"Uhg, what's that smell?" Phoenix wrinkled her nose as they reached the shade of a small maple tree with spreading branches and thick foliage. "It smells like…_eww_; No, it smells a little like cats, and –"

"They're coming!" hissed Teddy urgently. Sure enough, Phoenix could vaguely smell cats, and they carried a scent of the wild—mountains and wind, and oddly enough, it smelled rather familiar…

"Up here!" Teddy shot up the maple tree's trunk. "We don't know what they'll think of us – they're _wild _cats!" Phoenix bounded up the tree after him, and just in time.


	8. Chapter 7: Wild

_**Chapter 8: **_**Wild**

"Alright, let's see how Sparrowpelt's taught you; what does this tree smell like?" Phoenix was crouched, trembling and watching them, on a thick branch among the red Leaf-Fall leaves. Staring down at the wild cats below, she heard Teddy breathe, "They're so skinny,"

"I know," Phoenix hissed back. "They must have to catch their food." Teddy nodded in horror and awe; these cats were ready to kill to stay alive.

One of the cats was a full grown white tom with black patches. The other was a small white she cat who looked about Teddy and Phoenix's age. And, Phoenix realized with a jolt, she had green eyes. Like Teddy's.

"…it smells like twoleg, stale," the she-kit was saying, "fox, also stale," the tom nodded approvingly, "and kittyp—" but she didn't manage to finish her sentence, due to the potential diversion of a kitten falling out of the tree above her, and practically landing on top of her.

When Teddy heard her say the beginning of the word "kittypet", he shrank back in fear of being discovered, and once again, he went back too far, and started to slip over the edge. With a squeak of terror, Teddy grappled with the branches and twigs, struggling to get a hold. Phoenix gasped and lunged back to catch him, seizing him by his scruff and heaving him back onto the branch. But while Teddy got his balance, Phoenix had leaned too far as well; her paw slipped, and she landed on her chest, hard, on the branch, and then Phoenix crashed onto the grass beside her before the white kit could finish the word "kittypet".

Phoenix landed awkwardly, and hard, on her hind ankle. Gritting her teeth against the throbbing in her leg, she sat up with a groan, and found herself face-to-face with the white kit, who was baring her teeth menacingly at the trespasser.

"An intruder!" snarled the she-kit. "Let's chase her out!"

"Lay one paw on me and I'll shred you!" Phoenix spat back. Heaving herself up, Phoenix tried to put weight on her foot, but she squeaked in pain lifted her leg back up. The white kit swatted at her with a forepaw, and Phoenix jumped out of the way just in time, landing hard.

"Tinypaw!!" exclaimed the tom, sounding shocked. "Calm down this instant! Come over here!"

"Yes, Patchfoot," sighed the kit, who seemed to be named Tinypaw, rolling her eyes and stalking reluctantly over to him, flicking her tail over Phoenix's ear as she went.

"Now, tell me what she smells like. Is she any threat to the clan?" the question was just as puzzling to Phoenix as Teddy was afraid, hiding in the tree above them. Patchfoot, which seemed to be the tom's name, waited expectantly for Tinypaw's answer; she was obviously something of a good student.

"_She's_ no threat to our clan—she's a _kittypet_!" Tinypaw sneered in reply.

"That's right," spat Phoenix. "You want to make something of it?" she added with a flash of irritation and a stab of pain in her ankle. Who did this kit think she was?

"Tinypaw," said Patchfoot warningly. He turned to Phoenix. "What's your name?"

"Phoenix," she said. "What's the big deal? We—I was just having a look."

"Phoenix, we don't want to hurt you, but we are the warriors who own this territory. We will defend our kits and our clan with our lives, and you should not come back exploring. We are warriors of SkyClan, and Tinypaw is an apprentice"

"Yeah, this is _SkyClan's_ gorge," spat Tinypaw, as if this were the most obvious thing in the world. _Someone woke up on the wrong side of the basket_, thought Phoenix. "You can't just strut onto our territory and 'have a look'" she elaborated waspishly.

Something about Tinypaw's manner made Phoenix want to throw her off the side of her precious gorge, and her sore leg wasn't helping her temper. Recklessly, she snarled back, "Oh, yeah? Watch me!"

Tinypaw spat with rage and started forward, but Patchfoot told her to stay put and leave Phoenix alone. "Tinypaw if you don't calm down, you'll find yourself searching the elders' pelts for ticks; be _quiet_, for StarClan's sake."

"We don't _have_ any elders," muttered Tinypaw mutinously, but she sat down. Patchfoot gave Phoenix herself a hard look, and she continued.

"Well, I _still_ can't figure out why you guys get to wander in and decide this gorge is _yours_; why do _you_ guys get to have the whole thing for yourselves? This is everyone's world, this is everyone's home. You can't just take it for yourselves!"

"Oh yes we can! This is SkyClan's gorge! We fought for it once, and we'll fight for it again! Couldn't you smell the scent markers, you _stupid kittypet_?" but Tinypaw's rage seemed to be too much for words. With an ugly snarl, she leapt forward and pounced on Phoenix.

Under normal circumstances, Phoenix was a remarkable fighter for such a young kit, especially a house cat, but Tinypaw had been in warrior training for a moon, whereas Phoenix had only ever been outside about seven times, and her ankle was perilously close to broken. So when Tinypaw pounced onto her unprepared enemy, she thought the battle was already decided.

In any fair fight, they would have been almost exactly matched, but even with her lack of training and hurt ankle, Phoenix was a formidable opponent. She kicked and thrashed and bit and scratched, as did Tinypaw, and the fight raged on, unpredictable and ferocious; now Tinypaw was on top, now Phoenix, now Tinypaw was back above her, and then Phoenix was on top of her trying to squish the smaller kit and keep here ankle from falling off; the fighters were snarling and spitting, Patchfoot was yowling, another voice was crying out and the wind howled dramatically, but while all eyes were fixed on the fighters, everyone else seemed frozen—

Now Tinypaw was on top again, and she raked her claws across Phoenix's back, who

screeched in pain, and then Phoenix tried to dislodge her opponent by twisting underneath her and throwing her off with her back legs, but as she did, she kicked Tinypaw off at a funny angle, and her sore ankle twisted and fell limp. With a yowl of pain, she crumpled onto the ground on her back.

Tinypaw gathered herself for another attack, and launched herself at Phoenix as she lay on the ground. When Phoenix saw her coming back, she struggled to get up, but found she just couldn't do it. The sound of Tinypaw snarling and Patchfoot yelling and another, fainter voice in her ears, she squeezed her eyes shut. She braced herself for the attack with what little energy she had left. Suddenly she wondered if this was how warriors felt before they died. Then she heard a familiar cry and her eyes snapped open with a cry of relief.

"Don't hurt her!" cried Teddy, leaping down from his hiding spot. He expended his momentum from the leap by careening towards Tinypaw and skidding to a halt where she had been a second before. With a cry the apprentice leapt out of the way to avoid Teddy bowling into her.

"Teddy!" cried Phoenix with relief. "Thanks so much! I don't know what—"

_"Tinypaw!"_ snarled Patchfoot's voice. "What do you think you're_ doing_? Didn't I tell you to leave her _alone_?" he stalked right up to Tinypaw, spitting with rage.

"Uh-oh", muttered Tinypaw.

_"You had better hope you don't if yourself confined to camp for the next moon! Now if you can't follow orders, you'll go back to camp!"_ he spat furiously. Tinypaw opened her mouth to defend herself, but then she closed it. Hanging her head, she walked slowly in the direction of the canyon, her tail dragging, and Patchfoot watching with a grim expression. The snarling, spitting warrior looked so utterly defeated that Phoenix felt a stab of sympathy for her. However, she felt a more important, insistent stab, and that was one of pain from her ankle. She squealed angrily, twitching her foot and struggling to get up. Teddy rushed over and helped her sit up.

'You're not going to hurt us, are you?" squeaked Teddy nervously, his moment of triumph dissipated.

"No, no," said Patchfoot, turning back to them. "Tinypaw was just…" he trailed off and a silence hung over them.

"Just what?" asked Phoenix curiously. "What?" she pressed. Patchfoot sighed.

"Do you really want to hear the _whole _story?"

"Yes!" they cried enthusiastically; the scuffle with Tinypaw had left them worn out, and they were both curious about living in the wild.

Patchfoot had seemed reluctant to talk to them about the world of the warriors, but he was a fatherly type, and Phoenix could tell he was enjoying himself as he told them the long story of the warrior cats, his clan, and his life. As the sun set, they left for home, waving their tails at him as he plunged back towards his camp, into the undergrowth near the edge of the gorge, and over the brow of the hill and away.

Phoenix's mind was full of thoughts and new ideas as they walked home silently, stiff and, in Phoenix's case, sore, from sitting all day; at the moment, the idea of a 'medicine' cat appealed very much to her.

"Well, that was… interesting," Teddy broke the silence with a nervous glance at the uncharacteristically quiet Phoenix.

"Mmhm," she replied vaguely, staring at the ground and walking slowly. After some thought, she continued, slowly and uncertainly; "Really makes you appreciate… what our twolegs… do for us," she mewed, but they both thought that the words sounded odd, and neither of them really believed that she meant it.

They were approaching Teddy's garden wall, and at that precise moment, the sun burst through the blood red clouds, and the two kits saw that the sun was setting _behind the wall._ They were just the right amount sideways that they could see the sun around the twolegs' nests, and Phoenix gasped; this was the same image that she had seen in her dream! All the fear and sadness rushed back to her, and she turned to Teddy, who was wearing a similar expression of astonishment.

"That—it's—the dream—" he spluttered. Phoenix silenced him with a look, and they both turned back to his wall to see the sunset. When night finally fell, they walked home together in silence, contemplating the phenomena they had witnessed that day.

When they reached home, Phoenix leapt over to her wall, waved goodbye, and plunged into her garden before heading straight inside, and flopping down in her basket. She fell asleep almost instantly, considering the factors of a sprained ankle, a deeply scratched back, and a general feeling of wonder and unexplainable excitement.

After all, it had been a very long day.


	9. Chapter 8: Rain

**_Chapter 9: _Rain**

The next morning, Phoenix did not wake up until rather late; the exhausting events of the day before left her asleep until almost sunhigh. When she did get up, she limped across the kitchen floor, and was about to eat something and go outside, when a twoleg kit spotted her and picked her up. Then, the kit noticed Phoenix's scratches along her back, and her limp, and of course she told the other twoleg kit, a male, who ran off and told the grown twolegs. They took her tenderly and wrapped up her leg in some brace or bandage, then talked for a long time while the kits stroked her gently.

Watching as rain fell against the windows, Phoenix drifted into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

It was dark. Phoenix was in the center of the blackness, and it was so complete she could hardly comprehend it in its infinity. She jolted awake in the dark twoleg nest, and stood up. Staring out the window, she could see something different in the sky. It was light and slivery, and the stars were diamond bright.

She crept out of the nest, feeling as if her senses were supercharged. Trotting across the frosty cold yard, she was following something she felt rather than knew. Phoenix bounded onto the wall and landed easily on the other side, where the SkyClan cats lived. Her paws led her across the stiff grass, to the tree where she and Teddy had met Patchfoot and Tinypaw. She broke into a sprint. There were clouds gathering above her, and her heart was pounding in her throat. Finally, Phoenix skidded to a halt near a ledge overlooking SkyClan's gorge; it was bathed in light from the full moon above her, and the silhouettes of many cats could be seen on the rock. Many cats. A whole clan full, it seemed.

Phoenix crouched low in the grass and watched as a cream-and-white she-cat leapt up onto a small rock to address the clan below her. Phoenix thought she could recognize Tinypaw and Patchfoot among the Gathered cats. They stood up one by one to speak to the others, and as the full moon began to set, they filed to the edge, and leapt off, one by one; they seemed a very _organized_ group.

The last to leave was the cream-and-white she-cat. She turned, and looked straight at Phoenix, nodded, and leapt down after her clan.

* * *

The next morning, Phoenix woke up to the sound of rain drumming once more against the windows of the twolegs' nest. Undaunted, she bounded outside, feeling a new energy rushing through her: She had seen a Gathering! Whether it had been real or a dream, Phoenix would never know, but she _did_ know where she was going now.

"Teddy! Oi!" she sailed off the wall, but landed awkwardly because of her bandaged ankle. It felt much better, but it was certainly not healed. "Ted?" the yard was deserted. "Hello—? _Aaak_!"

Suddenly a large brown something landed on Phoenix's back. She grappled with it for several heartbeats, but then she had it pinned down. With a feeling of sinking horror, she realized that her attacker had green eyes, like Teddy's, and its fur was dark and plastered to its skin. Wait a second, those eyes were green, but—

"Teddy!" Phoenix cried in delight. "Where did you learn those fighting moves? They're _awesome_!"

"And you! You beat me anyway!" replied her friend. "Where were you yesterday?"

"I was really sore, and my twolegs put me in a bandage, then I fell asleep and..." Phoenix trailed off, and Teddy nodded understandingly. There was a long silence. Phoenix broke it.

"So where were _you_ yesterday?" she asked.

"I…I went to see the clan cats," he mewed.

"You _did_?" said Phoenix. " So _that's_ where you learned those fighting moves, huh?"

"Yeah," purred Teddy. "But it gets better! Guess what Patchfoot told me!"

"Ummm…no idea. What?"

"He said we could come back today for a lesson!" cried Teddy, bursting with excitement.

"Well, then what are we waiting for? Let's _go_!"

* * *

About a moon later...

It had been raining for nearly two weeks now, and at the end of the fist week, the twolegs had started not to let Phoenix out, when they left every day, by tying shut the cat flap. Phoenix was itching to get outside and keep training with Teddy, who was probably way ahead of her learning by now, and she _missed_ training with Patchfoot and Teddy. So when she awoke in the early dawn hours to see more rain falling, Phoenix decided to get outside before anyone woke up.

Darting nimbly across the kitchen floor, Phoenix was a much stronger and agile young cat, and she reached the back door in a few bounds. She kept running, full force at the cat flap, and she felt the twine snap under the force of her speed. Phoenix burst through the cat flap, and outside, with a squeak of pride and excitement.

Phoenix's yard was a generally gray sort of color, with little rivulets of cold water running everywhere through the grass. A cold, clinging mist covered everything, and the leaves on all the plants and trees had fallen: it was almost leaf-bare. But her victory was short-lived; a few seconds after she made it outside, Phoenix was sopping wet and freezing cold.

Shivering, Phoenix looked around for shelter, and spotted a small space in the wall where a stone in the wall had fallen out. She dove into it, and found that, even if she couldn't squeeze through it to get to Teddy's yard, she would be able to see him when he came out. For a long time, she crouched in the crevice, wishing she could go back inside, but knowing that if she did, she would not be let out again. Finally, sopping wet, she crept out of the crevice, deciding that Teddy had not been let out today.

A moon ago, Phoenix and Teddy had gone to visit the SkyClan cats for a fighting lesson, and they had returned every day since, learning to hunt and fight like clan cats. On the day before her twolegs had started keeping her inside, Patchfoot told them that she and Teddy were _descendants of SkyClan_ _cats!_ Amazed, they had gone home to ponder this, and Phoenix had not managed to come back.

Leaping onto their wall one last time, she watched his yard for a few heartbeats. The rain fell around her, soaking her to the skin, plastering her fur against her, sliding down the roof of Teddy's house, splashing onto the step in front of the door...

Suddenly, the back door swung open. Phoenix gasped and sailed down from the ledge, diving into a bush when she saw that it was not Teddy, but his twolegs. She watched as they came out, a male, a female, and a male kit; they were holding a silver mesh cage thing, and when they had closed the door, they walked towards their monster, holding up their forepaws to keep the rain off. Curiously, Phoenix crept along behind them in their well-kept bushes. Then one of them turned, and with a shock like a lightning bolt hitting her, Phoenix realized what was in the mesh cage, what they were taking to get into the monster they rode, what was trapped, and caged, and doomed: _it was Teddy!_

"Teddy! _Teddy_!" she yowled so hard that her throat felt raw, and she choked as rain went up her nose, but Phoenix didn't care; all she knew is that they were taking away her best friend, away in their monster, and she burst through the last bush and sprinted after them.

"Phoenix! Help me! _Phoenix_! _Help_!" Teddy twisted around when he heard his friend's cry, and he yowled back at her, clawing at the cage's bars in panic, his face screwed up with terror. "Phoenix!"

"I'm coming, Teddy, I'm coming!" Phoenix yowled wildly in reply, her breath coming in short, painful gasps as she raced after Teddy. The twolegs had noticed, and the lagging kit even stooped down to coax her, but Phoenix tore past him, eyes streaming, throat sore, and her heart thumping madly. The grown twolegs were shoving Teddy into the monster's belly, and Phoenix had one last glimpse of his petrified face before the kit climbed in, and the door slammed shut. The last thing she thought she could hear over the monster's growling was Teddy's voice.

"_Phoenix_! _Help_! They're _taking me away_! To the _vet! To the Cutter's!"_


	10. Chapter 9: Chasing

**_Chapter 10: Running_**

The monster growled again, and Phoenix stood frozen at Teddy's words. _The Cutter? Teddy? They were taking him to the Cutter?! Oh no, no, no! _

Patchfoot had told them all about the Cutter, and she knew that he would lose all of his real personality and enthusiasm after they'd Cut him. And if she went after them, what if they Cut her too? But his terrified face was burned into her eyes, and she couldn't just let them get him.

Phoenix sprang up and bounded after the monster.

The wind was as cold as ice, blowing into her face, ears, and down her throat until it felt raw and sore. The cold, hard stone of the Thunderpath scoured even her tough pads, and soon even they were bleeding. Rain was streaming down her already soaked fur, until she was shivering violently as she yowled and dashed after her friend's captors, her heart fluttering like a trapped bird. Her steps grew weaker, and the monster went faster, until finally, it turned a corner, and was gone, gone, gone...

* * *

Phoenix lay beneath a long hedge, rainwater from its small leaves dripping and splashing onto her half dry fur. Disoriented with shock and terror, Phoenix had tried to follow the path the monster had taken, but even with her newly developed tracking skills, she could neither follow them, nor find her own way home because of the Thunderpath's stench. Exhausted and beaten, she had laid down under the hedge by the side of the Thunderpath.

She began to drift easily into unwary sleep, the darkness of unconsciousness surrounding her until she was falling through it, deeply asleep, and then suddenly she blinked awake, and there was Teddy. It was still dark around them, as dark as a night without stars, but Teddy's figure was easily visible in the blackness, as if he gave off his own light. He beamed, and they ran to greet each other.

"You're okay!" cried Phoenix in delight. "They didn't cut you!"

"Yep!" replied Teddy, grinning.

"Fought them off, did you?" she purred, swatting her tail over his ears.

"Sure did," he laughed. "Where were you?"

"I was..." Phoenix trailed off, confused. Where had she been?

"Phoenix?" said Teddy anxiously. "Phoenix...?" suddenly he whirled around in terror. "Run!" he screeched. "Run, Phoenix get out of here, they're coming for me! Go; get to the Gathering, quick!"

All Phoenix could see on the horizon was a pair of lights... monsters' eyes, maybe? And anyway, the Gathering wouldn't be for another couple of days, so... then she realized what Teddy was so afraid of. Those monster eyes. They were green. "Teddy! Run, come on!" she screeched, careening off down the Thunderpath. "_Come on_!" she yowled again, terror flooding her. "_Run_!" she was running, again, her heart pounding, eyes streaming from the cold headwind, pads raw, and her throat sore from gasping for breath. Suddenly, there was no Thunderpath at all.

Phoenix barely managed to skid to a halt before tumbling into the blackness that spread out below her like an endless lake. She whirled around to call out to her friend. Then Phoenix gasped.

She saw Teddy, standing in the center of the Thunderpath, back arched, hissing, ears flat, spitting at the monster with green eyes. But it swerved around Teddy, and he let out a cry of surprise, falling back onto the stone. It was speeding straight towards Phoenix.

She shrank down in terror. There was no where to run to. It was going to hit her.

"Phoenix... Phoenix... Phoenix..." the cry echoed around her, and the monster hit her with a crash that shook her and everything inside her, and she was falling again, trying to run, yell, anything, and Teddy's cries echoed around her...

"Phoenix! Phoenix..." his voice changed. A cold wind ruffled her damp fur. A huge paw was resting on her side. Her eyes snapped open.

"_Phoenix_?"


	11. Chapter 10: Wishing

**_Chapter 11: _Wishing**

A twoleg kit crouched over Phoenix, looking anxious. She blinked herself awake, still full of panic from the dream she could only half remember, the details slipping away when she thought about them directly, yet standing like calm water when she looked at them indirectly. It was like looking at the sun; staring at straight at it, you would be blinded, but you can see all of it if you look to the side.

The only word of twoleg-speak that Phoenix understood was her own name, and now that the kit was yelling senseless things to her companions, Phoenix could only pick up the word 'Phoenix'. She hoped that the word 'vet' wasn't in there, but she couldn't tell. Slumping back onto the damp ground, Phoenix closed her eyes and waited.

After some loud chattering, the full-grown twoleg female lifted Phoenix tenderly into her forepaws, and they carried her down the raised path next to the Thunderpath. A fluttering white leaf attached to an oddly straight looking tree bore an image of Phoenix herself, but the twolegs' kit tore it off and crumpled it up triumphantly. Phoenix was too tired and stunned and disoriented to even move. _They've got him. I couldn't save him. They Cut him. I let them take him away. It was just a dream; Teddy's gone. _

Phoenix hardly could remember what happened next when she looked back on it later, except dozing off into a fitful sleep, waking up occasionally from terrifying dreams that she could barely remember. They were full of swirling blackness, growling monsters, Teddy's terrified screeches, and slavering jaws full of huge teeth and set below bright green eyes...

_The night was a cold one, frost dusted over everything, and the full moon glittering silver-white above her. Phoenix. She was alone under the sky, studded with diamond stars. She was running, running, running away from those green eyes, were they Teddy's eyes, or the evil ones? Either way, she was afraid; she had failed Teddy, and in those angry slavering jaws, she knew that she would meet her end—_

__

_Teddy was sprinting towards Phoenix, his eyes wide with fear, and then his eyes found her. He was suddenly calm, as he looked in her direction, and Phoenix bounded forward to meet her friend. But then he sailed over her, landing neatly on the ground, and he loped over to a she-cat standing some distance away. They touched noses, and then they were curling their tails together, pelts brushing, and they were growing taller, bigger, towering over Phoenix, who crouched, flattened to the ground, small and helpless, as her friend left her behind—_

_Teddy was running towards Phoenix, the scrubby field of crabgrass warmed by the sunlight, and the trees in the distance swishing and rustling. "Teddy!" she cried out, racing towards him, and he bounded towards her, smiling at his friend. Suddenly, he leapt into the air over her, and transformed into the snarling, drooling, green-eyed terror that haunted her, and he landed on her back. She screeched in terror and pain, spitting and trying to shake Teddy off, or was it Teddy? It couldn't be— _

_No—_

Phoenix jerked awake, her eyes wide, her heart pounding wildly, shaking in fear, unable to even remember her dream, but feeling more alive than since she had last practiced battling with Teddy and Patchfoot. She knew something was different tonight. Something had changed.

Everything was vivid and focused, the colors bright, and the figures sharp, all her senses intensified. The full moon was white-blue, shining so brightly that she felt that it was brushing her ears, as she bounded out of her open cat flap, energy exploding out of her as if all of her energy from the days when she had slept was rushing out of her. It was just like that night, or that dream, when she had watched that, that—

Gathering.

Phoenix was sleeping. All was silent. The wind rustled the leaves gently around her, and the breeze was warm and quiet. She breathed deeply, and awoke slowly and peacefully. There he was. Framed by silver moonlight, Teddy sat patiently waiting for her to awake. She smiled, and he opened his mouth, and then suddenly froze in terror. The he vanished into smoke, and Teddy was gone, gone, gone—


	12. Chapter 11: Gathering

**_Chapter 12: _Gathering**

Phoenix stared up at the full moon as it hung in the sky, glowing white-blue, and shedding its brilliant beams down through the small unkempt trees and frosted bushes of her garden. She _wasn't_ going to believe that it had just been a dream when Teddy had told her to go to the Gathering, she told herself. The full moon was high in the sky, and she knew that somewhere nearby, there were many cats looking up at the heavens, and getting ready for something. A Gathering, maybe?

A clan full of cats, maybe?

Phoenix galloped towards her back wall, took a flying leap, and soared right over the wall. Her naturally powerful haunches propelled her high over the stone, and she landed neatly on the crabgrass of the field behind her yard. Phoenix didn't even need stop to regain her balance before she loped off towards the SkyClan border.

She sprinted across the wide field, her fur rippling in the moonlit breeze, her tail straight out behind her, squinting in the frigid headwind, and even her tough pads burning with the cold. Phoenix could see a figure sprinting across the field, their gait irregular but practiced, strong but wounded, and the cat's small but broad-shouldered form turned to face Phoenix. She stumbled slightly, and pushed forward faster, towards the edge of the gorge.

Once again, Phoenix was looking at the jutting rock, cats leaping onto it from below. The cream-and-white she-cat stood once again at the head of the group, addressing her Gathered clan. Phoenix sprinted towards them, her head bowed, silently challenging the other running cat. Then a shock jolted through her like a lightning bolt.

"Phoenix!" yowled the cat. "Phoenix, _Phoenix_!"

Phoenix tripped and fell and stood up and bounded over and stumbled and twisted and tumbled into a faint and scrambled up again.

She knew that voice.

She knew that silhouette.

She knew that cat. That tom.

It was Teddy.

Teddy!

_Teddy_!

_He was alive!_ Alive, he wasn't dead, he was okay—but was he? _Was_ he still a tom? She had to know, but she couldn't ask, she had to find out, but she couldn't talk to him, she couldn't see his face when he knew she had betrayed him, been unable to save him. Phoenix turned and bowed her head; she would have to face him. Teddy walked right up to her and stood in front of her.

"Phoenix?" he whispered.

She looked up at him. His eyes were full of... _gratitude_? Was _that_ what Phoenix saw in the depths of her friend's eyes?

"I couldn't save you," she said. "You got _Cut_, and I couldn't stop them" she was nearly sobbing as she continued. "I dreamed about you every time I went to sleep, and there was a monster, and I fell, I was falling forever, and the twolegs were carrying me home, but it's not home, we know it, and there's this monster thing, with these horrid teeth and green eyes, they're evil and I was so scared, I was delirious, and it's my fault, isn't it, I couldn't stop them, you can't stay with those—those..."

"Shh... it's okay, don't worry," Teddy mewed. "I has that dream too, only it was you who told me to come here, and so I ran off the second they let me out of the gage thing, and I wandered around twolegplace, looking for home, and now I know where it is; here."

Phoenix nodded solemnly. "I know. I had a dream, and I think it was StarClan, maybe, they told me to, and it was, 'follow your heart, and wherever you go, your heart will..."

"'...Follow you there'!" cried Teddy. "They told me the same thing!"

"Do you have any clue what that means?" asked Phoenix, puzzled. Teddy shook his head and glanced at the Gathered cats on the Skyrock.

She looked back at Teddy, then at the Gathering, and her heart felt as if it were overflowing with... she didn't know, but Phoenix thought that she had a good idea of the StarClan cats' prophecy about your heart...

"We'll be okay, I know, we can't stay with them, the twolegs, they mean well, but we have another fate; we're not kittypets, Phoenix," Teddy mewed, his eyes full of a flame Phoenix had never seen before. "We're—"

"We're warriors," said Phoenix in a hushed and deadly whisper. "SkyClan warriors."

Teddy nodded. "Come on," he murmured. They walked together towards the clan cats' Gathering. Crouching instinctively in the grass behind some rocks, they listened to the talking cats.

"... And Tinypaw has been doing wonderfully training to be a warrior; tomorrow will mark the first day of her third moon of training. She is excelling in hunting and in fighting: she has beaten both of her siblings in battle practice, and neither of them has succeeded in beating her. Tinypaw has the makings of a fine warrior," a brown tabby tom was speaking, addressing his clan and his leader.

"Thank you, Sparrowpelt," their leader dipped her head. Then she turned to address a she-cat that Phoenix assumed was a queen "Petalnose, I was wondering if we could talk later about your kits' training, as well as your own. Mintkit seems to be expressing the desire to become a medicine cat, and I'm sure Echosong would be delighted to teach her. Echosong?" The leader turned her head towards a silver tabby she-cat sitting next to her.

"I would be delighted; your daughter has already taken to helping around the medicine den, and her compassion and sympathy will help her on her way to becoming SkyClan's next medicine cat," the tabby, Echosong, smiled at the queen named Petalnose.

Phoenix watched them vaguely, wondering when they could go out and say hello. Then suddenly she realized who the brown tom had talking about.

"_Tinypaw_!" she spat angrily, remembering the rage she had seen burning in those green eyes.

"Shh," warned Teddy. "We should wait." Before Phoenix could ask, 'For what?' another voice spoke, one that was more familiar.

"I also have a good report on my apprentice, Bouncepaw. He is training hard, though sometimes he needs to be straightened out," that was Patchfoot. Phoenix nearly sprang up with surprise. She saw Patchfoot shoot a teasing glance at a tabby apprentice, who she assumed was Bouncepaw. The apprentice didn't return the smile. "He has the spirit of a true warrior, though, so I hope he will keep up his _good_ work, and drop the messing around." Patchfoot winked at his apprentice. "Also... I would like everyone to know... because of the rumors, and stuff, you know, about the... kittypets," a murmur ran through the crowd. Patchfoot continued. "They train as hard, and hunt as well, and fight as strongly as any clanborn apprentices, and with Leafstar's permission, I would like to ask them... to join SkyClan."

A rush of muttering and whispers ran through the crowd of cats. The cream-and-white she-cat held up her tail for silence, looking interested.

"Go on, Patchfoot," she mewed.

"That must be Leafstar," whispered Teddy. "You know; the leader." Phoenix nodded.

"I hope that we can all accept these two cats, Phoenix and Teddy, and welcome them into our clan, if Leafstar agrees, and remember that a few moons ago, we were all kittypets and rogues too. Thank you." Much more muttering broke out as Patchfoot sat down. Leafstar looked thoughtful.

"No, thank _you_ Patchfoot, for bringing this up, I think it would be an excellent idea to invite these two kits to become apprentices. If you could ask them tomorrow, that would be appreciated." Patchfoot dipped his head and stood up again.

"Awfully _formal_, aren't they Ted?" muttered Phoenix, feeling back to normal already. He nodded, grinning in agreement.

"Well, yes Leafstar, thank you for the permission, but I'm not sure if that will work. You see, they have been missing for several sunrises now." Another murmur swept the crowd. "Phoenix disappeared about two weeks ago, and Teddy said he didn't know where she was, that she hadn't come out for the past few days, and that her cat flap had been tied shut, it seemed. Well, a couple days later, Teddy didn't turn up, and I haven't seen him since," Patchfoot told his leader, sounding concerned. Suddenly, an idea struck Phoenix like a lightning bolt. She crept forward around the boulder, beckoning to Teddy with her tail.

"...but I would be happy to suggest the idea to them," Patchfoot was saying. "And—"

"—and we'd be happy to accept," announced Phoenix, stepping forward onto the Skyrock with Teddy beside her, through a tide of murmurs and gasps of surprise. "Our twolegs had us trapped, but we escaped. We know where we really belong now, and its here," she mewed. Teddy finished her thought for her, the two kittypets facing the clan.

"With SkyClan."


	13. Chapter 12: Home

**_Chapter 13: _Home**

Phoenix plodded along behind Teddy, towards the edge of the Skyrock. A gaping space lay between them and the path into SkyClan's camp, but for any of their clan's cats, whose haunches were naturally powerful, the leap wouldn't be too difficult.

Phoenix watched as Patchfoot made the huge jump, sailing through the air, suspended in the sky for a heartbeat before he landed lightly on the stone below. Bouncepaw glanced darkly at Phoenix and followed his mentor. She crouched at the edge, determined not to be afraid, but her heart was beating fast.

Teddy returned her fearful gaze sympathetically, and Phoenix felt herself calm. She could always count on Teddy, turn to him...

Deciding not to waste a heartbeat hesitating, Phoenix launched herself out off the ledge. She heard Teddy gasp as she soared over the huge crevice, landing lightly, at least for a first try.

Phoenix stepped aside to let Teddy jump, and trembling, the tom did so. He landed hard beside her, and they stood for a second, staring at the moon as it set behind the nests they had once lived in; with the twolegs. But there was no regret to feel here; that part of their lives was over; they were true Clan cats: SkyClan warriors; they would be someday.

Then they turned, Phoenix and Teddy, and strode down the path, together, away from the life they were leaving, regretless, behind.

They didn't look back.

* * *

The wind whistled as the two friends made their way down the path towards their new home. A few glowing eyes gleamed from the shadows, watching as two new recruits for their clan strode down the trail, towards the sparkling river that twisted along below their camp, bubbling up from beneath a rock, to weave through the stones of the stream beneath a silver moon...

Phoenix held her head high, ignoring the muttering around her and her companion. Patchfoot trotted up to them, from where he had been talking in a low voice to his apprentice, Bouncepaw, near the bottom of the camp. Tinypaw slunk past them, looking embarrassed and trying not to be noticed. Phoenix had no objection to ignoring the green-eyed apprentice, so she did as Tinypaw hoped, and stepped up to Patchfoot without even glancing at her.

Teddy, however, watched Tinypaw out of the corner of his eye.

"That was quite the dramatic entrance, Phoenix," Patchfoot greeted his trainee.

"Well, you know me," she mewed teasingly. "I like a quiet life."

"Yeah," Teddy turned back to them as Tinypaw disappeared around a corner, into a den, probably. "She doesn't stand a chance out here, where you have to _fight_ to survive." They all purred together for a moment.

"Well, I'd guess you two want to get to sleep for tomorrow," Patchfoot told them, sobering up the fastest.

"What's tomorrow?" said Teddy blankly, and Phoenix nodded, stifling a yawn.

"Well, try moving into a clan, from twolegplace," Patchfoot chuckled. "Come on I'll show you to the apprentices' den." Phoenix followed, feeling as if she could have fallen asleep right there, and wondering why her exhaustion had come on so suddenly. Teddy trailed along blearily behind them.

Patchfoot led them down the slope, towards the river that bubbled up nearby. A pair of amber eyes stared out from inside the apprentices' den; they blinked and turned, whispering something. Two other pairs of eyes opened, and they all came out into the moonlight. The amber eyes were Bouncepaw's, the green ones Tinypaw's, and stormy blue belonged to Rockpaw, whose steady gaze Phoenix met.

"Well, erm, this is the apprentice den..." said Patchfoot, looking a bit unnerved by the solid wall of apprentices that confronted them. "This is Tinypaw, you know her," she averted her eyes, looking ashamed, "her brother, Rockpaw," the gray apprentice dipped his head, "and Bouncepaw, you know, my apprentice," Patchfoot finished rather awkwardly, and Bouncepaw bowed, spectacularly, and mockingly.

There was an uncomfortable silence. Patchfoot broke it by clearing his throat loudly. "Well, I leave you... all... to it," he dipped his head to them, shot a glare at Bouncepaw, and waved his tail as he walked off. Silence fell again.

Bouncepaw broke it this time. "So, your highnesses, which of our humble nests appeal to you, because of course we wouldn't mind giving up ours to noble cats like you," he bowed mockingly again.

"What is your _problem_?!" demanded Phoenix, shouldering forward right up to the sneering apprentice.

"Oh, _nothing_," he replied with yet another bow. "I just have a very sensitive nose, and I wouldn't appreciate the _stench_ of _kittypets_ in my den all night."

"D'you have a _problem_ with Teddy and I, because if you do, now would be a good time to tell us to have _mercy_ on you," Phoenix spat furiously. "If you've got a problem with us, I'm sure your mentor would love to hear about it, and when Teddy's leader and you're still sleeping in the _apprentice_ den, you'll be sorry you ever even opened you gigantic mouth; I'm sure it's only that big to cover up the tiny mousebrain behind it, and I think I could help you fix your 'sensitive nose' by ripping it off!!"

Bouncepaw actually stepped back a pace, looking alarmed. Phoenix stood in front of him, glaring, all of her exhaustion having vanished, and Teddy stepped up beside his friend. Tinypaw coughed.

"Yeah, Bouncepaw, you should probably lay off," she mewed quietly, glancing nervously at the two newcomers. Rockpaw nodded in agreement. A low growl rumbled form inside Bouncepaw's throat.

"How about we _find_ _out_ who should be asking for mercy," he hissed menacingly, ignoring his siblings. Phoenix's claws slid out.

"If you think you could find your ears after I _claw_ _them_ _off_," she snarled back. "Try me."

Bouncepaw leered at Phoenix and leapt.

Instantly the lithe young she-cat ducked, and he flew over her, brushing the top of her head as he went. Spitting furiously, he landed hard on the stone behind her, and before he was even on his paws, Phoenix was on top of him. Snarling, she sank her teeth into his scruff, her paws planted firmly on either side of them. Bouncepaw hissed frantically, trying to get her off, but Phoenix held on confidently. Tinypaw and Rockpaw, and even Teddy, looked on in amazement; this '_kittypet'_ could _fight_!

"Alright, _okay_, you win, now can you get _off_ _me_?" snarled Bouncepaw. Phoenix calmly steeped off him, keeping from laughing with difficulty.

"You sure you still want that ear? 'Cause I can get it off of your mousebrained head pretty easy," she mewed, laughing. "Hopefully you've figured out not to mess with cats just because they _smell_ funny, aside form the fact that you're no rose yourself; just look at your fur! Any cat would think you'd been lying around in the dirt!" Bouncepaw spat furiously. Teddy laughed softly, and even Tinypaw's nervous expression broke a little, and she grinned.

"C'mon," said Teddy. "We should get some sleep."

* * *

The next morning dawned bright and cold; frost still glittered on the rocks around camp, and the sun hung in the sky, clouds covering it one moment, and drifting away the next. Phoenix and Teddy had slept in some of the empty sandy hollows in the apprentices' den, dreaming peacefully for the first time in many nights. The bright morning air seemed like an ice crystal, and everything was vivid, even in the eye-watering cold. Phoenix breathed it in, the forest smells, the river's smell, the smell of wild cats, and fresh-kill thawing after a cold night, she and stretched. The den was empty, except for Teddy, asleep, and Bouncepaw, dozing with some goop on his matted back fur. Phoenix stared unsympathetically at the rather small wounds she had given him. _He obviously went whining to the medicine den as soon as the rest of us went inside,_ Phoenix thought with a sneer. She really disliked him, Bouncepaw;_ arrogant, selfish, thinks he's so great... I'll _really_ show him, one day..._

A pebble rolled off a ledge behind Phoenix, bouncing and clattering like a thunderclap in the quiet air, and hit Phoenix in the back of the leg. She twisted around to see what was going on, in time to see a white head disappear behind the boulder that sheltered their den.

"Tinypaw?" she called hesitantly. The fluffy white apprentice had seemed nervous and upset last night, not to mention the fact that she had taken Phoenix and Teddy's side in their disagreement with her brother. So, Phoenix wanted to say thanks, and also find out what in StarClan's name was wrong with the silent, normally outspoken apprentice. Phoenix bounded up onto the rocks and peered down to where Tinypaw was crouching in a sort of crevice.

"Come here often?" asked Phoenix conversationally from on the ledge above Tinypaw. "A good spot for stargazing, probably, but not really at this time of night, when the stars are all out in the forest looking for a bite to eat. I'd bet a moon of fresh-kill that there are better spots around camp to see, for a stranger like me to have a look into." Phoenix grinned. Tinypaw looked up, barely concealing her own smile.

"Well, there is one spot..." said Tinypaw, looking mock thoughtful. "How about... the bottom of the river!"

Phoenix leered creepily at Tinypaw, and growled, baring her teeth. "You can try and drown me, foolish little apprentice, but I'll be back... I always come back..." she made a gurgling, coughing noise like she was choking, then flopped over dramatically, and rolled into the crevice where Tinypaw was sitting. She sat up again.

"I'm back! Did you miss me?" Phoenix grinned widely. She settled comfortably, and said conversationally, "so, how's life been?"

"Fine, I guess," sighed Tinypaw. There was an awkward pause, in which Tinypaw looked uncomfortable, and Phoenix retained a straight face with difficulty, before realizing that Tinypaw had stopped joking around. "I... I guess I'm sorry for, you know, kind of... getting upset, and, well..."

"Attacking me, and giving me my first battle scars?" finished Phoenix, purring . She grinned. "It's okay, I'd forgive you, but how you took our side in the... scuffle with Bouncepaw last night sort of... made it up to us..." she too trailed off.

"Yeah, Bouncepaw; I dunno what his problem is lately. It's been like... he's been a grump, and being rude and disrespectful to every cat, except... Patchfoot... oh!" suddenly Tinypaw's face cleared in understanding.

"He's been so irritable because Patchfoot hasn't been training him as hard as he's been training with you and Teddy, not to be rude, 'cause it's not your fault, only... he wants to be a warrior really bad. And the day you first met us, I had just had an argument with him over... oh I don't know, and I was all irritable too, so I wasn't being rude to Patchfoot, but I had to take it out on someone, like you two, and when Patchfoot stopped working with Bouncepaw as much, he felt left behind, probably, and he just got madder and madder, and I bet that seeing the cats who made his training slow down so bad made him really angry. I guess that stuff'll get alright, now that you and Teddy'll have your own mentors, so everything'll be okay with him." Tinypaw nodded, and Phoenix nodded too, but after a pause she shook her head.

"I don't think he'll forget that the first time we met," Phoenix sighed sadly, wishing that she wasn't already on bad terms with some cat on the first morning living with SkyClan. "He won't forget that I beat him in a fight in the first few heartbeats that we'd met. His pride won't let him forget, probably." The two she-cats looked into the distance, absorbed in thought. Finally Tinypaw broke the silence.

"You said you wanted to see the other places in camp," she queried, standing up and changing the subject. "Right?"

Phoenix nodded. "Where to?" she asked. Tinypaw seemed nice enough, she thought now, knowing why the angry apprentice had been so irritable, and irritating, the day that they'd met.

Tinypaw led her out of the crevice, and trotted across the frosty stone, the wind now blowing on them instead of howling around their crevice's walls. Phoenix caught up next to Tinypaw. "So _do_ you go there often?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah, sometimes, to stargaze a bit, and sometimes I fall asleep," Tinypaw admitted. "When it's warm," she added. Phoenix nodded.

The two she-cats wove around boulders as the sun peered around the clouds above them. Arriving at the bottom of camp, Phoenix watched the river bubble up from underground, as Tinypaw caught up.

"Okay," she said to Phoenix. "This is the river—"

"No, really?" laughed Phoenix. "Thanks for the update!"

Tinypaw snorted. "You want to actually find the bottom of the river? 'Cause I can point you in the right direction!" Tinypaw nudged Phoenix towards the riverbank, but she twisted out of the way nimbly.

"Can't get me in that easy!" she laughed. Tinypaw grinned, but continued.

"Seriously, this is the river, and this rock over here is the easiest spot to drink from, and over here—" she crept over to the stone where the river surfaced— "is the Whispering Cave, where Echosong goes to talk with StarClan, and Mintkit's going to, too."

Phoenix gave her a blank stare. "Echosong? Mintkit?" the names were familiar, stirring in her mind like dead leaf-fall leaves in a cold breeze. "They're... the... _Meh-eh-eh-dicine_ Cats?" she guessed slowly, yawning hugely.

"That's right," mewed Tinypaw. "C'mon, let's visit them; I bet Mintkit's there anyway."

They trotted up the slope a few fox-lengths, to a small fragrant den, where a gray tabby kit was sorting some pungent green and purple herbs.

"Hi, Mintkit," smiled Tinypaw. "How's things?"

"Oh, hi Tinypaw," the gray kit smiled back, glancing up. Her small voice was faraway and rather dreamy. "So this is the house cat," she mewed.

Phoenix didn't bristle as she had when Bouncepaw had insulted her and Teddy, because she could tell that it was a statement, not a question or an insult. Mintkit smiled at her.

"You're just exactly the warrior build, and you didn't even grow up in a clan; I play-fought with Sagekit every day, but I'm no better at battling than the vole in the fresh-kill pile over there," the kit said, astutely. She pointed out the vole with her tail. "I imagine you and I will be made apprentices at the same time, with Sagekit and... Teddy, is it?" Phoenix nodded. This kit was not the arrogant sort, but she spoke as if she were already a medicine cat. "Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if it was today, or tonight, maybe, after you two have settled in, and after mother's _groomed_ us; _bleah_." She made a face, the first real, kit-like gesture Mintkit had made.

"You'd think we were a pair of scruffy little runaways the way she is over our fur; you're lucky you don't have a mother to attack you with her tongue," Mintkit continued. Phoenix dipped her head, but she was a little regretful that she didn't have a mother to, 'attack her with her tongue'; Phoenix had been taken away from her mother as soon as she could eat normal cat food—well, _normal_ cat food, not necessarily _good_ food. Sighing, she turned back to the two she-kits.

"Where's Echosong?" asked Phoenix.

"She's inside, cleaning out all the rotten herbs," replied Mintkit, turning back to her job. "_This_ is what she gave me to do," added the kit, nodding towards the green and purple leaves. Tinypaw and Phoenix thanked her and strode into the medicine den.

Echosong smiled at them, greeted Phoenix as she would've greeted any new clan cat, not just a kittypet. Phoenix liked her; she was kind and compassionate, but Phoenix didn't like the smell of the medicine den; it was too strong and stifling. Waving goodbye, Tinypaw led her out into the sunlight.

They went up the slope to visit the nursery, where Phoenix met Petalnose, Mintkit's mother, and Clovertail, Tinypaw's, who was visiting. Then they proceeded to the warriors' huge cave, which Tinypaw told Phoenix was big enough to shelter the whole clan, if there was a bad enough flood.

Outside, by the Rockpile and fresh-kill pile, they shared the 'battling' vole that Mintkit had pointed out. There, Phoenix met Sparrowpelt, Tinypaw's mentor, and Cherrytail, Sparrowpelt's sister and Rockpaw's mentor. Sharpclaw, the deputy, Leafstar, the leader, with Patchfoot and Rockpaw were all out on patrol.

"So, what's Rockpaw like, anyway?" asked Phoenix curiously. Of the three siblings, he was the only one that she didn't know. "Personality-wise?"

"Well," Tinypaw looked thoughtful. "He's... fair, and calm, stoic, and... considerate and _pensive_," Tinypaw grinned. "Good word, _pensive_, huh? I heard Cherrytail saying that, like, the other day, to mother, about Rockpaw, and..." Phoenix stopped listening, staring around camp, up the gorge, the river, the skittering dead leaves, and the trilling birds that wheeled overhead. Her thoughts wandered, vaguely flitting about, alighting on one topic, then another, like a bird, drifting...

"Hullo? Anything fit to eat around here?" a mew echoed among the boulders of the Rockpile, and it was _Bouncepaw's_ _voice_. _Bouncepaw_ was talking conversationally to Phoenix, even in a _friendly_ way. Phoenix whirled around.

It was Teddy and Rockpaw.

"Yeah, you, the kittypet with the scruffy whiskers," growled Bouncepaw's voice again. "Hullo! Why the puzzled expressions?" he asked, still nowhere to be seen. Tinypaw looked almost afraid, whirling around.

"Ted—?" Phoenix looked around at the two toms below, and she saw Rockpaw's mouth move as Bouncepaw's voice echoed around them.

"hullo, what're you lookin' at, scruffy?" mewed Rockpaw, imitating his brother perfectly.

Phoenix laughed. "That's a really good impression of Bouncepaw! How do you do that?"

"Yup, yup," replied Rockpaw doing Phoenix's voice flawlessly, and Teddy grinned at him; the two toms seemed to have become friends, as she had with Tinypaw. All the kits purred, and their laughter echoed around them, bouncing off the walls of the gorge, and disappearing into the distance. Phoenix felt a huge bubble of happiness expanding inside her, and she positively beamed at the camp. They were home.

A bird trilled above them, and a cloud drifted listlessly over the sun, and for a heartbeat, a pair of eyes could be seen in the bushes across the river, watching the camp. They blinked once, and disappeared.

Green eyes.

**Okay everybody, thanks for sticking with the story so far, and right now I've got three ideas for Phoenix's apprentice name: Splashpaw, Sparkpaw, and Emberpaw. I already have ****Teddy's.**

**If you would like a say in what her name will be, then please either review with an answer, or go to my profile page and vote. PLEASE VOTE, I can't decide which warrior name to use, and whichever one wins, I will use as Phoenix's new name. Please note that I can't continue the story unless Phoenix has a name, and 'Phoenixpaw' sounds pretty lame. Also, if you have another name suggestion, please tell me in a review; my messaging thing isn't on, and I'm not turning it on. **

**And by the way, I know how many people are reading this- and how few are reviewing! At the last count, I've gotten 454 hits. Pleaseplease_pleasePLEASEPLEASE _REVIEW!! **

**Voting closes on May 5th; hopefully the next chapter will be up by then. Whatever's ahead then will **

**Oh yeah, and sorry about the weird dreams; they are going to make sense later on. So will the 'green eyes' thing. **

**Remember to _review_!! Thanks!! **

**Mo0ny **


	14. Chapter 13: Ceremonies

Okay, hi everyone, and thanks so much for reviewing

**Okay, hi everyone, and thanks so much for reviewing! There could have been more, but I won't complain; the winner is obvious: Emberpaw!**

**Now, before I tell you that the winner won, I would like to thank the nice people for their nice reviews, and also I would like to thank an indignant **_**Kaloleina**_**, for her lovely name suggestions! Thanks, Kaloleina, for suggesting Sparkpaw and Splashpaw. For those who don't feel like hiking all the way to my profile, there were sadly only two votes in the poll, but I already took it down anyway, and they were both for Emberpaw. **

**Now, the name; the winner is clear, but I did get a well backed-up suggestion from a nice anonymous reviewer, (thank you, anonymous), and they suggested Flamepaw. Hmm... I liked the way they put it, "her name could be 'Flamebird', or Flamefur, perhaps," it's not a terribly original name, so I didn't originally list it as an option, but hmm... Also, I recently had a talk with Kaloleina, who likes the name Sparkpaw best, and she told me that it, 'describes her personality the best,' and I have to agree with that point. So, to see if it will be the clear winner, the good idea, or the well-made point, you'll just have to keep reading. **

**And also I apologize, Teddy's name is nothing extravagant or amazing, but it seems like it fits him. Note: disclaimer (a bit late): I do not own Warriors, (that's the Erins), or any of the books, so I don't have any of the **_**exactly**_** correct ceremonies. Oops. **

**Thanks again for reviewing! Keep it up, **_**please!**_

**Mo0ny **

_**Chapter 14: **_**Ceremonies **

The night air was cold and still, as if everyone and everything was holding its breath, waiting. A few dead leaves danced across the silver-gilded stones of SkyClan's camp, each edge of rock outlined with white moonlight, and even the river seemed to whisper more quietly than usual. The stars winked in and out of sight as thin clouds drifted vaguely over them and the waning moon, and when an owl hooted somewhere, it was like a thunderclap in the silent air.

Phoenix crouched under a ledge, watching the world outside as it lay waiting beneath the stars.

_An apprentice—a SkyClan apprentice. I'm going to be a warrior! _She felt ready to leap into the air and claw the moon, run all the way to the distant mountains and back, swim upstream in the river and sprint home again; a warrior! Her! Phoenix! She had never expected this, that morning she had decided to go outside for the fist time; it had been such a _novel_ thing, outside. Now she was never going back in; she was a _wild_ cat now; a SkyClan cat. Well, she would be soon.

Teddy trotted over to her, looking as calm as the rocks he darted over.

"Hello, Phoenix," he said formally. "Nervous yet?"

"Not until you are," she shot back teasingly. "Are you?"

"Not until you are," he imitated her badly.

"Been taking lessons from Rockpaw, have you?" Phoenix said as she head-butted him in the shoulder. "He must have Blackcough if that's how you imitate him!"

"No," purred Teddy. "Just a slight throat infection from trying to imitate _you._"

"_Excuse—" _Phoenixbegan, mockingly indignant, but another yowl cut across her own.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath the Rockpile for a clan meeting!" called Leafstar, leaping up onto the tumble of stones as cats began to creep out of their dens into the cold moonlight.

Phoenix positively squealed with excitement, leaping up with a cry of delight and anticipation and anxiety. Teddy sprang up as if he'd been shocked by lightning and careened off after her. They sped across the shadowy camp, their paws thumping as fast as their hearts were pounding, fur and ears flat back in the wind, and their tails streaming out behind them.

"... by making new apprentices, we show that SkyClan remains strong as we grow into a sturdy clan," Leafstar was saying. "So today we welcome two kits as apprentices, and two young cats as full members of our clan. Mintkit, come forward."

They skidded to a halt at the back of the crowd, Tinypaw grinned at them from where she sat beside Rockpaw, but they stayed quiet. Mintkit stepped forward, shaking with excitement and pride, groomed so that her tabby pelt shone in the moonlight.

"Mintkit has decided to take on the path of medicine cat, and we all wish her luck as she learns the way to care for her clan and speak with that of the stars. Mintkit, from this day forth, you shall be known as Mintpaw; your mentor will be Echosong. Your formal ceremony will be held in the Whispering Cave on..." Leafstar glanced at Echosong, who leapt onto the Rockpile and mewed,

"The half-moon; her ceremony will be held on the night of the half-moon." Leafstar nodded, turned to Mintpaw, who touched noses with Echosong, and bounded off the Rockpile.

"Sagekit, come here," the leader said in her deep, resonant voice. Sagekit, shaking with nerves and groomed to perfection, clambered awkwardly onto the Rockpile. "I call upon StarClan to look down upon this kit, and protect and teach him as he learns the noble code of the warriors. Sagekit, form this day forth you shall be known as Sagepaw. Your mentor will be Sharpclaw." Sharpclaw, the tabby deputy, stepped forward, and touched noses with his new apprentice. Sagepaw beamed and darted down the Rockpile.

The leader turned to face the kits' mother, Petalnose. "Petalnose, you have not yet learned the warrior code," she said, and Petalnose stood up with a nod. "Is it your wish to become a warrior of SkyClan, in the name of your kits and your mate, who sacrificed himself to save us all, to join us as a fully-fledged warrior of this clan that you now call your home?"

"It is," mewed the she-cat, no longer a queen.

"Then we will all help to train you as you learn the noble code of your ancestors, Petalnose; you will now begin to learn to be a full warrior of SkyClan. We all wish you luck in your future as a warrior."

Petalnose nodded and sat down again. The other cats began to chant, and Teddy and Phoenix joined as their voices rang out in the frosty air; "Mintpaw! Sagepaw! Petalnose! Mintpaw! Sagepaw! Petalnose!" the family smiled, their mother a bit sadly, and Phoenix guessed she was thinking of her dead mate. What had happened to him?

"Alright," mewed Leafstar. "Now we will welcome two new cats into our clan; they were kittypets, but now they will be warriors. They have shown bravery and strength in their escape from the twolegs, and now we will accept into SkyClan; Phoenix and Teddy.

"Teddy, come forward," mewed Leafstar, and Phoenix could see him shaking as he approached the Rockpile and made the leap up to SkyClan's leader. Phoenix was feeling nice, and also rather nervous herself, so she spared him of a shove on his way to becoming an apprentice.

"Teddy," Leafstar mewed. "I call upon our warrior ancestors to look down upon this... young cat, and watch over and teach him as he is trained to learn the ways of your noble code. He has already shown determination and loyalty to his friend and his clan, and we should all wish him luck as he learns the warrior code laid down by his ancestors many seasons ago. Teddy, from this day forth you shall be known as Branchpaw. Your mentor will be Clovertail." The white she-cat stepped up to greet her new apprentice, and she touched noses with Branchpaw, who was glowing with pride.

_Branchpaw, _thought Phoenix, shaking her head slightly as if to clear it as she tested out her friend's new name. _Branchpaw, not Teddy anymore. Ever. Branchpaw. _Out of the swirl of thoughts the rattled around her head like leaf-fall leaves caught in a cold wind, Phoenix heard, as if from a great distance, Leafstar's voice.

"Phoenix, come here."

Phoenix rose, saying her name over and over in her head, trying to remember it, as if she was going to forget, but still shaking, with cold, excitement, and fear of the size of the decision she was about to make. She bunched her haunches, and leapt straight onto the top of the Rockpile, the cold air tugging her down, the eyes of all of SkyClan on her, and Ted—Branchpaw's eyes on her, but she wasn't a SkyClan cat, not yet, she was alone, the only one, without any cat—

With a jolt in her thoughts and only a soft thump from her paws, she landed lightly on top of the Rockpile, telling herself to stop; she wasn't alone, _Branchpaw _had simply joined the clan a few heartbeats early. Phoenix saw Branchpaw looking back at her, and Tinypaw, and Rockpaw, and his gaze was calm and reassuring, as if he knew what she was thinking, and felt all of it. She turned back and looked straight into Leafstar's eyes, calmed by the sight of her friends; it was time to join them, as an apprentice, as a SkyClan cat...

"Phoenix," said Leafstar. "I call upon _our_ warrior ancestors to look down upon this young cat, and protect and train her as she is taught the ways of your noble code. She has already shown courage and loyalty to her friend and her clan, and we will all wish her luck as she learns the warrior code laid down by his ancestors many seasons ago. Phoenix, from this day forth you shall be known as Sparkpaw. As all the warriors now have apprentices, except for Petalnose, and as she is still learning, I will train Sparkpaw as she becomes a warrior in her turn." Phoenix—_no, Sparkpaw, _she reminded herself, felt herself glowing with pride as she reached forward and touched noses with her new mentor, her new leader, Leafstar.

"Branchpaw! Sparkpaw! Branchpaw! Sparkpaw!" the clan chanted, and _Sparkpaw _could hear the warmth and welcome in their cries; they were _her_ clan now, not just _the_ clan; Leafstar was _her _leader, not just SkyClan's; this was _her_ home now, _with _SkyClan, not just knowing it; this was _her_ home now, with Ted—Branchpaw, and Tinypaw, and Rockpaw, and Leafstar and Patchfoot, this was her home.

With SkyClan. Her home. Sparkpaw's. 


	15. Chapter 14: Training

_**Chapter 15: **_**Training**

"Sparkpaw, you want to do the morning patrol?" a voice stabbed into Sparkpaw's dream like icy claws.

"Sure, Teddy-paw," yawned Sparkpaw, standing up and arching her back in a huge stretch. "I'll bite—I mean, wake up, Tinypaw."

Blinking furiously, Sparkpaw dragged herself out of her nest. Shaking bits of moss out of her fur, Sparkpaw kicked Tinypaw with her hind foot, mewing, "oy—hibernating rock; wake up."

"Unh... wha...?" moaned Tinypaw, rolling over.

"Dawn patrol," replied Sparkpaw. "We're going to eat, and if you don't get up quick, then—"

"Okay, okay, I'm getting up, sheesh," grunted Tinypaw, struggling into a sitting position.

"Fine, I'll get you a squirrel if you want," Sparkpaw said over her shoulder, striding out.

"Thanks," groaned Tinypaw, flopping back into her nest.

Sparkpaw stepped out into the cold, brilliant sunrise above SkyClan's camp; glittering frost dusted every rock, a vault of clear, pale sky arched above it, and the half moon was hanging low over the distant, shadowy mountains. She blinked a bit in the bright sunlight and trotted off towards the center of camp.

Sparkpaw and Branchpaw had been members of SkyClan for a moon and a half now, training, patrolling, battling, hunting; freezing their fur off on moonhigh patrols, scalding their paws on sun-scorched rocks, and not missing their old homes one bit. Sparkpaw and Tinypaw had grown into inseparable friends, as had Branchpaw and Rockpaw, but the strong bond between 'Teddy' and 'Phoenix' was still quite intact. The only thing that Sparkpaw was troubled by was her dreams.

Dark shadows, whispering webs of inky darkness, growling, long, lethal white teeth, bloodstained claws, and dull, blank eyes, framed by a pale new noon, reflected with stars they could not see...

'_Follow your heart, and wherever you go, your heart will follow you there...'_

Sparkpaw shook her head vigorously, and blinked back into the daylight. She was dwelling much too much on her dreams, and anyway, dreams are meaningless things, just the mind's reaction to... sleep? _Maybe I should ask Mintpaw or Echosong, _thought Sparkpaw, turning towards their den. _No, I'm supposed to be going on patrol; come on. _

_Follow your heart... _

The voice fluttered by her ear, and then vanished into the whispering wind. Sparkpaw whirled around, but there was no one there. She shook her head, and, heart pounding, she turned and trotted towards the fresh-kill pile.

"Sparkpaw!" a voice rang out across camp, where the night air was hanging heavily and clouds darkened the horizon. A dim full moon was rising from behind the distant mountains, and it lit the frost that sparkled in the cold night air. "Get the other apprentices and come here!" it was Leafstar.

"Okay!" Sparkpaw bellowed back. "Guys," she stuck her head into the crevice where they had been sitting, sheltered from the wind, and Bouncepaw's moody presence; he was in the apprentice den, after having an argument with the two former kittypets. He and Sagepaw were in there together, having become friends; Sagepaw seemed better at keeping calm than his friend, though. "C'mon; we're due at a Gathering."

They rushed out of the little cave and tore off towards the center of camp, racing one another, slipping, falling, tripping each other, their thoughts spiraling and swirling into a pool of excitement. It wasn't until Sparkpaw careened, first, into the Rockpile that she remembered to—

"Sparkpaw! Where are the other apprentices?" Sharpclaw's ominous figure suddenly leered over them.

"I was—they're—" Sharpclaw had always freaked Sparkpaw out to a certain degree, making her nervous around the dark, fierce warrior, and now was no exception. Also, the fact that she had just remembered to get the other two toms, and the cold, and her pounding heart from running, made her a bit high-strung, and her stutters turned to a snap. "I'm getting them, already, sheesh; you don't have to skin me!"

Sharpclaw gave her a murderous look, and she found herself face-to-face with some gigantic chompers. Cringing as the deputy spat at her, "you had better hope your back-talk doesn't get you someplace you didn't want to end up, Sparky-paw," Sparkpaw slunk off towards their den.

Fuming with anger and embarrassment, Sparkpaw changed course to where they were sitting, and trotted towards the river.

If she had been paying attention, she might have noticed the dark shadow creeping up the bank towards the three of them.

* * *

"Yes, miss, what is it, miss?" the ragged shadow of one of her warriors appeared from the darkness. His sharp eyes were amber, tense muscles rippled along his tabby frame, but the powerful warrior was showing much more humility than his pride usually permitted.

"Battle," hissed the hulking figure of his leader. "You know the rats have been chased out." The warrior nodded quickly.

"Of course."

"Now is our chance to attack them and claim their territory. They are weak, we are strong. They are few, we are many. We can defeat them."

"We _will_ defeat them, miss." The amber-eyed figure agreed instantly. "With a leader like you, miss, defeat is impossible. We would be nowhere without you, miss, you have taken us this far, miss; there is no way we could be defeated, not with you leading us into battle. Miss," he added hastily.

"That is true," she nodded with satisfaction. "You are quite right. You and the '_warriors'_ seem nothing without my leadership." The tabby warrior nodded, quickly stifling his hesitation. "What have you found? The warriors' weaknesses? Strengths? And the apprentices? That _Sparkpaw_ seems... odd enough—she already kept us from getting Leafstar once—what are we going to do about her?"

"Miss," said the warrior slowly, "I know her well enough to... she is rather _spontaneous, _and as a warrior of our own, she would be very... well, she is an _excellent_ fighter, but her emotions would get in the way—it is easy to see how much she cares for her friends, Tinypaw and Branchpaw... but especially for Rockpaw. He is stoic and calming and sturdy, the absolute opposite of herself, rather like Branchpaw as well, and—"

"You're jabbering. Again." The leader gave her warrior a severe look. Then she nodded. "I see. And the plan? Will it work?"

"They are gullible enough," he mewed, nodding.

"Then ready my warriors; take... Rust, Moon, Lash, Edge, and Crow. We will lay the trail at sunrise."

He dipped his head and scampered off, and the leader's bright green eyes followed his shadow as it raced into the darkness.


	16. Chapter 15: Fox

_**Chapter 16: **_**Fox**

_A windswept plain. Rocks are tumbled among the tall brown grass. A plateau. A bird flutters about and alights halfheartedly on a low bush. A mouse scuttles across the largest boulder. Mountains are rising in the distance behind a dark haze of forest, and an eagle wheels above, a black spot in the sky. _

Picture that, Sparkpaw.

_A wolf howls in the distance. The bird screeches. The grass rustles and the forest whispers. It is quiet here. But it is brutal too. _

Can you hear them, Sparkpaw?

_A fox darts out from behind the boulder and pounces on the mouse with a snarl. She kills it quickly and eats it. She has no clan depending on her. But she is a leader. _

_Sparkpaw..._

As the voice echoing in her mind spoke her name, suddenly the images she described blossomed before Sparkpaw's eyes, every detail crystal clear.

_She is tall and powerfully built, with sharp eyes that reflect the desert sun. Her auburn fur lies flat in the cool wind, and she looks coolly at the sky, as if it has just offended her, and she is choosing to ignore its comment. _

She leads cleverly and forcefully, Sparkpaw. Be careful.

"What?"thought Sparkpaw blankly.

Suddenly the fox turned to face her. Sparkpaw shrank back in fear, but a voice whispered beside her.

_This is a vision of the past. There is nothing to fear. _

This voice wasn't that of the first.

"Who's there?"

But the fox warrior's huge teeth and long claws were not Sparkpaw's reason to shrink back. It was the—

* * *

"Dawn Patrol, kitty."

"Bouncepaw," growled Sparkpaw, rolling over. "When'd I get doomed by StarClan to go with _you?"_ Her heart was still pounding from the dream. The fox she could still see, but there was something else that had really scared her, and she couldn't remember what it had been.

"C'mon, lazy bones. Get your fuzzy butt up and out."

"Who's taking us on the—?"

"Sharpclaw."

Sparkpaw groaned.

* * *

"Alright," Sharpclaw mewed, "looks like a fox den. Sparkpaw, what's it smell like?"

"Fox?" suggested Sparkpaw acidly.

"Smell it," The deputy growled. Sparkpaw leaned forward and sniffed, repressing a yawn. She blinked in surprise and turned to face her companions. Rockpaw gave her a quizzical look, while the other two toms simply glared.

"Its fresh," mewed Sparkpaw, finding that her heart had begun to pound. The apprentices exchanged freaked looks, but Sharpclaw kept glaring. She didn't see a flicker of fear or even surprise in the warrior's cold amber eyes. "Well... um, shouldn't we follow it...?"

"Yes." The deputy didn't move.

"Okay..." Sparkpaw said, alarmed by Sharpclaw's lack of response. "Uh, I think it went... this way?"

Rockpaw dipped his head and trotted after her, and Bouncepaw, after a glance at his deputy, followed. Sharpclaw watched them go.

The scent took them over the edge of the gorge, up the river, to the rock where the stream bubbled up, to a steep cliff's edge where they darted up and onto the grass again. The scent was fresh but faint, and as the apprentices went, it got stronger. Bouncepaw was shaking in his fur, and only Rockpaw's wide eyes showed his fright. As for Sparkpaw, every step was worse than the last. Her heart thumping in her throat, she led the two toms along through the forest path, and slowly it began to get wider and rockier. Then they turned a corner and stepped out of the woods.

Sparkpaw gasped so hard it hurt.

* * *

It was a plain. A windswept, grassy plain with frost-covered boulders and stones scattered among the tall brown fronds. A bird of prey wheeled high above them and screeched like scraping rock. The fuzzy blot of familiar the mountains rose high in the distance. A low growl echoed somewhere nearby.

"_Turn around and step back into the woods," _Sparkpaw whispered to the other two apprentices.

"What?" demanded Bouncepaw loudly. "It's just a—"

"_Shut up!_" hissed Rockpaw angrily. "Try that for a change, why don't you?"

Bouncepaw looked like he wanted to hurl his brother to the eagle for lunch, but for once he held his tongue.

"_Where are we, Sparkpaw?" _Rockpaw whispered.

"_I don't know," _she hissed back, _"but I've been here before."_

"_Okaaaay..." _Rockpaw sounded skeptical. But mostly confused.

Slowly they backed into the undergrowth.

"Where do you three think you're going?" growled a familiar voice.

* * *

"Sharpclaw!" gasped Bouncepaw. "You scared the skin off me!"

Sharpclaw curled his lip. "A warrior must always be alert, Bouncepaw. You," he glared at Sparkpaw, "are not doing a particularly good job of leading. These two are 'scared out of their skin,' and you offer no reassurance, or a plan, or anything. Sparkpaw, you have much to learn in the way of being a leader."

"Oh yeah?" spat Sparkpaw. "What would you know about being leader? Why do you boss us around like we're your inferior little servants, bossypaws? You're just jealous of Leafstar 'cause _she's_ leader and _you_ aren't! You just _wish!"_

Sharpclaw gave the apprentice a dangerous smile. "Sparkpaw," he said in a deadly quiet voice, "why don't _you_ lead your _fearless _warriors into battle and show me to this fox's den?" Sparkpaw glared evilly at the tabby and whirled around. Heart thumping, Sparkpaw led the brothers onto the plain.

Sharpclaw stood in the shadows and watched them go with a shrewd smile.

Sparkpaw was shaking, afraid of meeting the awful fox leader, or the wolf that she'd heard howling before. The three of them crept stealthily through the tall grass, leaping from rock to rock silently. A bird twittered in terror as the eagle screamed and dove at it. The apprentices flattened themselves in the grass as the huge eagle rose and soared away. They were no longer enemies, no longer leader's apprentice and warriors', no longer kittypet and clan cats; they were three kits following a fox's scent to what might be their deaths.

Wide-eyed, Sparkpaw drew back between the two toms and they wove, shoulder to shoulder, along the fox's path. Its stench was nearly making her gag, and Rockpaw and Bouncepaw seemed to be doing no better. They were nearly there, when suddenly the trail just stopped. It was gone.

"Wha...?" Sparkpaw began, but he saw Bouncepaw's expression and, slowly, slowly, turned around to face what the other two were staring in terror at. Her heart leapt into her throat; her blood ran cold; Sparkpaw froze.

There it was. The fox.

Bouncepaw gaped stupidly at it, and Rockpaw dropped into a trembling crouch. Sparkpaw poked his flank with her tail, however, and he shot her another quizzical look. She stared at her friend, trying to say without speaking, _there's no way we can fight this thing! _It was almost true; the fox was huge.

Hulking and broad-shouldered, she was the auburn color of the grass around them with a sunburn. Her eyes were a dark amber, and her tail twitched back and forth as she watched them. The only weakness Sparkpaw noticed was her left hind foot—she held it gingerly above the rock. A low growl rumbled in her throat.

Sparkpaw actually sighed aloud with relief; it wasn't the evil she-fox from her dream—this one was a darker color. Maybe they could fight her; the hurt foot might make it easier. Bouncepaw gave her the eyebrow, as if to say, _how are you sighing? This thing is gonna squish us like beetles! _

"Badger attack," growled Sparkpaw to the toms. "Go for the left hind side—I think her leg's hurt." The other two nodded; there was no question about using the badger attack on their huge opponent. "On the count of three... one... two... _three!" _

The apprentices launched themselves forward. Bouncepaw bowled into her right back leg, making the fox stumble before she could react. She hissed as she landed hard on her left leg, and as Rockpaw pounced onto her sore leg, clawing it viciously. Sparkpaw shot between the fox's front paws and raked her claws across their opponent's chest, swerving out before the fox could drop on top of the apprentice. But she was sly. Pretending to be a slow, lumbering, badger-like creature, she turned and growled and snapped until they thought they had the upper... paw. Then the three apprentices all leapt onto her back, clawing and biting and snarling with glee.

Then the fox rolled over onto her back, crushing them.

Rockpaw rolled out of the way just in time, slipping with a cry off the boulder, and Sparkpaw shoved Bouncepaw off after him, just like she had caught Teddy from falling, saving and sacrificing. With a squeak, Sparkpaw was smooshed under the fox's hindquarters instead of Bouncepaw, her jaws still clamped around the base of its tail.

* * *

_Sparkpaw! Sparkpaw! Wake up! Sparkpaw..._

It was dark. And that was it. Sparkpaw was floating in the center of the darkness. Nothing hurt. Nothing smelt. There _wasn't_ anything to see or smell or feel sore. Sparkpaw wasn't even sure she was there at all. It was very confusing.

But she could hear.

_Hello? _She thought. _Anybody invading my brain today? No? Okay..._

"_Sparkpaw_!" a real voice suddenly slashed into her dark dream, and instantly she remembered—the fox, Bouncepaw, the plain, Sharpclaw— "Sparkpaw, wake up!"

"Uuungh... I'm... I'm awake... is... everyone okay...?" she scrambled up, but instantly her head began to pound. Sparkpaw flopped back into the grass, her neck and back aching. "Where'd it go? Is she... is everyone okay? Bouncepaw? You mousebrained furball?"

"I'm fine," he assured his rescuer. "Rockpaw is too. We chased the fox off by just snarling a lot."

"Oh?" said Sparkpaw. "That's a new method."

"Yeah, well..." There was an awkward silence. "Erm, thanks for... you know, ah," Bouncepaw scuffed at the dirt.

"Saving your fuzzy behind?" suggested Sparkpaw irritably. He stared her straight in the eyes and nodded. His scared sincerity was such a polar opposite of his normal touchy mood that Sparkpaw just had to laugh. He offered her a halfhearted grin, and stood up to greet Rockpaw, who had been following the fox to make sure she left.

"It was a ploy," he growled. "Her leg wasn't really hurt." The other two gasped.

"You _kits_ should have noticed that a bit earlier," snarled a voice from above them, "and maybe you wouldn't have been squished like bugs!" Sharpclaw towered above them, glaring like they had just set a fox on him, instead of the other way around.

Because Sparkpaw had the horrible feeling he'd been watching them lose the whole time.


	17. Chapter 16: Tracks

_**Chapter 17: **_**Foxes**

"Phoenix—I mean—Sparkpaw! Sparkpaw! What's going on?"

Sparkpaw looked up and saw Branchpaw running towards her, looking a bit frantic.

"What's everyone talking about?" he panted, reaching his friend. "Bouncepaw was ranting about you and a patrol and some foxes or something... He's not serious is he? There isn't really a fox, is there? _Is _there_?_" he gasped, seeing Sparkpaw's look.

Slowly, she nodded.

Sparkpaw and the patrol had returned hours late to find a quiet camp. Then while Sharpclaw delivered the news, she and Tinypaw had been taken off by Patchfoot to hunt. Sparkpaw had filled the two of them in on the news. The hunters had returned with very little prey to a camp full of flying rumors and panic under a blood-red leaf-bare sunset. Patchfoot had gone to talk to the other warriors, after convincing Tinypaw to leave Sparkpaw alone and go get the thorn pulled out of her pad.

So Bouncepaw was spreading rumors, was he? "What did he say about me?" asked Sparkpaw angrily.

"Oh, I forget, something unpleasant as usual," replied Branchpaw. "Anyway, what happened?" Sparkpaw told him, and he seemed to calm down. "At least its only _one_ fox—Bouncepaw said there waere, like, twenty! Sheesh!" Branchpaw shook his head.

Sparkpaw nodded in agreement, trying not to give way to the nagging feeling in the back of her head: her dream. Between the nightmare she'd had last night and the early patrol, all she wanted to do right then was keel over and sleep until Newleaf. Sparkpaw yawned.

"D'you want to sleep? I was up all day today too, with battle training and stuff," Branchpaw mewed. "C'mon."

They walked silently to their den beneath the rays of the dying sun and the dark clouds on the horizon.

* * *

"_Watch the green eyes" _a voice whispered_, "they are watching you._"

"_What_?" hissed Sparkpaw, suddenly finding her own voice. "What are you talking about?"

Of course she knew. The green eyes were haunting her. They had been since before she'd met Teddy. They _were_ always watching her.

A face swam vaguely in front of her: an old gray tabby tom with sky-blue eyes. He looked at her intently.

"Can you tell me what's going on?" she asked him in a deadly whisper. "Am I dreaming, or not?"

"Yes," he said. So _his_ was the voice she'd heard so many times.

"Yes what?" she asked. "Yes, I'm dreaming, or yes, I'm not? Can't you tell me?"

"Yes," repeated the tom. "Yes, I can't tell you. It is for you to figure out."

"Then why bother coming?" asked Sparkpaw irritably.

"To give you a message."

"Okay," she said. "What... what is it?"

"One is no threat," mewed the elder, "but there are many. Bouncepaw is sometimes right. Sometimes accidentally."

"What—?" she began, but suddenly he disappeared. The darkness around her dissolved and became her den. The wind was howling outside, and the darkness of nighttime seemed to be a lot lighter than usual, with an odd orange tint.

"What what?" grunted Branchpaw from beside her.

"Huh?"

"You said 'what'." Branchpaw's mew was muffled as he rolled over. "Wuzzamatter?"

"Oh, its nothing." She tried to sound reassuring. "Go back to sleep, Teddypaw."

* * *

That morning, Sparkpaw awoke to the sound of Sagepaw's delighted shriek.

"_What_ is _that?" _

"I think its _snow," _came Tinypaw's awed voice.

"Looks like it," Sparkpaw heard Rockpaw mew in agreement.

Sparkpaw groaned and rolled over, stretching. She felt like she hadn't slept at all.

"You awake?" mumbled Branchpaw from beside her.

"Yeah," moaned Sparkpaw. "You?"

"As awake as I'll ever be."

"Yeah. From the sound of it, we've been blessed with the presence of the cold, icy, wet, white stuff of legend."

"Huh?" grunted Branchpaw, sitting up.

"_Snow," _Sparkpaw reminded him, dragging herself to her paws and stretching.

"Right," he said. "I knew that."

"Of course you did, genius." Sparkpaw grinned at him. They walked over to the den's entrance, as Tinypaw and Sagepaw gleefully rolled around in the snow. Branchpaw prodded at it with a paw, wrinkling his nose.

"Stuff of legend is right," he told his friend. "It's _cold." _

Sparkpaw nodded and stepped out into the deep snow. At least a tail-length high, it was fluffy and reached her belly fur, but the still moisture seeped into her pads. Sparkpaw shivered and looked up at the camp.

The whole world was covered in a huge, silent blanket of white. The sunlight glittered off the sparkling snow that draped each tree and rock in shimmering white. Snow was in the air too, blowing on the soft breeze and fluttering back down in great sweeping drifts, tumbling from a tree branch when a bird took flight, and flying up where Tinypaw and Sagepaw were yelping and scuffling. Their footprints made a trench in the snow, and Sparkpaw and Branchpaw trotted along it to see if there was any fresh-kill. They weren't very hopeful.

"'_Scuse_ me," grunted a voice behind them. Bouncepaw plowed between the two friends, looking surly and tired. Sparkpaw stumbled back remembering her dream. Had Bouncepaw dreamt as well?

"He's looking extra-nice today, huh?" said Branchpaw in an undertone. Sparkpaw nodded as they trudged towards Sagepaw and Tinypaw.

"Hi guys!" Tinypaw called, shaking Sagepaw off.

"Hi!" yelled Sagepaw, popping up from under the snow grinning broadly. "Isn't this _so_ awesome? Huh? The snow? It's so cool! Don't you love it? Have you tried jumping in it? It's like swimming! It's kinda cold on your paws, but then you get used to it, and it's _awesome! _Did you try it yet? C'mon!"

"Okay!" Sparkpaw laughed, and bunching her muscles and leaping high into the air, Sparkpaw plunged into the snowdrift. With a gasp, she hit the powdery snow, and for a heartbeat she thought Sagepaw was right; it wasn't _that_ cold! Then the snowflakes seeped down her skin, and melted. "Hey Teddypaw, c'mon, its—_yeeeow_!" With a yelp, Sparkpaw felt the cold, and shot out of the snowdrift, bowling into Branchpaw. They toppled into the snow bank on Branchpaw's other side, and crawled back out, yelping with laughter.

"That—" gasped Branchpaw, "—is—_cold!"_

"Really? Gee, thanks for the update!" laughed Tinypaw, and Sparkpaw and Sagepaw laughed too.

"C'mon," Branchpaw mewed, getting up and shaking the snow out of his fur, "we really should go see if we can help, and hunt or something." The others nodded, and they followed Bouncepaw's trail to the center of camp.

* * *

"You three," growled a voice behind them, "Sparkpaw, Rockpaw, and Bouncepaw. Come with me." Sparkpaw turned to see Sharpclaw glaring down at them.

"I'm sorry," she mewed, smiling pleasantly, "Bouncepaw isn't here right now. Would you like to leave a message?" It was about sunhigh, and Sparkpaw, Branchpaw, Rockpaw and Tinypaw were sharing a rabbit that bp had caught in the center of camp. Sharpclaw glared at her.

"I'll find him then, kitty," he growled. "You two can go to the edge of the ravine, then, and wait for us."

Sparkpaw didn't move.

"Is someone going to tell us why we should move at all?" asked Rockpaw pleasantly.

"Or are we supposed to just be humble little '_kitties_' and do as we're told without question?" Sparkpaw continued, injecting a note of venom into her calm voice, and narrowing her eyes at the deputy. Rockpaw cocked his head at Sharpclaw, who looked murderous, and smirked, cheered to have shut him up for a moment.

"_Move_ _it," _growled Sharpclaw. He jerked his head towards the Skyrock, where they could see a cat keeping watch. Sighing, Sparkpaw got up with monotonous, sarcastic slowness, and Rockpaw followed suit.

"'Bye, guys," she sniffed to Tinypaw and Branchpaw. "I—I'll miss you..."

"Get a move on!" snapped Sharpclaw. Rockpaw gave him a deeply offended look.

"Well, sir, I _do _apologize for any inconvenience, sir, _so_ sorry, sir, we will endeavor to meet your _every_ need in the future, sir, _so_ sorry," said Rockpaw, dripping sarcasm. "Sir," he added.

* * *

"Remind me again why we're trudging through snow up to our ears to the top of a steep incline?" said Rockpaw.

"To dance the night away," replied Sparkpaw, grinning. "No, wait—correction: because... Sparkleclaws wants us up here, so he can throw us off the Skyrock!"

"Oh, yes, that's right, I _forgot," _mewed Rockpaw. "I could've _sworn_ we were supposed to—hey, what's that smell?" Rockpaw stopped and sniffed the air. "_Saaaay_..." he began, speeding up and coming over the brow of the hill onto the field, stopping dead in his tracks, "you don't suppose that—"

"—this might be why we're trudging up a steep incline in ear-deep snow?" Sparkpaw finished, catching up with her friend. "No, _no_, I don't suppose so."

The snow was churned up here, like a bunch of giant cats had been passing through. All the trails came from different directions, and all of them left in the same direction. Considering the scent hanging stiflingly strong in the cold air, fortunately that direction was away, but—

"Almost certainly, hopefully, essentially, exactly, probably, definitely, _not,_" Sparkpaw finished. She and Rockpaw backed slowly away from the fresh scent, then turned and sprinted down the ravine, snow flying behind them.

—but unfortunately, that scent hanging in the air was foxes.


	18. Chapter 17: Foxes

_**Chapter 18: **_**Foxes**

Sparkpaw and Rockpaw tore down the ravine, their hearts pounding like frantic wingbeats.

"Fox!" yowled Sparkpaw as they tumbled into camp. "Foxes! On the—up there—like a whole pack—" she babbled frantically, her chest heaving. Rockpaw was breathing raggedly but managed to croak:

"I'll tell them, you go—talk to—Leafstar—" he gasped. Sparkpaw nodded and raced off towards her mentor's den.

"L—Leafstar? Hello?" she called as she reached the entrance. Sparkpaw stuck her head in. The leader's den was deserted. "Fox dung!" she spat. Whirling around, Sparkpaw rocketed back to the center of camp.

Patchfoot and Sparrowpelt had returned with Sagepaw from a hunting patrol in the gorge, _which Sharpclaw arranged! _Sparkpaw thought furiously. _I bet no other cat's seen the fox tracks yet! That sneaky mousebrained bossypawed fox! _They didn't seem to believe what they were hearing, but Rockpaw's expression and panic, since he hardly ever displayed any emotion, were convincing them.

"Go look for yourselves!" Sparkpaw cried, skidding over to them. "We need to find Leafstar and tell her! We have to find the other warriors to make sure they don't get caught by the foxes, and put another guard on the Skyrock and guards around the nursery!" she nearly yelled, her panic overflowing.

"We need to find my brother!" cried Rockpaw frantically, starting to shake. "Sharpclaw didn't know where he is! He could get eaten!"

"And we need to find Sharpclaw and _feed_ _him_ to the _foxes_!" Sparkpaw snarled. "He sent us up there! We could have been killed! He knows all about this! It's his fault! We're all gonna die 'cause he wants to be leader!"

"Okay," mewed Patchfoot, "_okay, _I get the idea, but you two need to _calm down. _Now, tell me what's going on."

"We _did," _said Sparkpaw exasperatedly, using all her self-restraint to keep from screaming at him. "There's a _whole_ _pack_ of _foxes, _and they—are—coming—to—_kill us. _Would you like me to clarify that?"

"Okay," said Sparrowpelt, looking alarmed. "How—?"

"Sparrowpelt," mewed Patchfoot, turning to him, "go up the path and look at the tracks carefully. If they are fox tracks, come back and tell us, and I'll go with you to follow the trail. Go." Sparrowpelt nodded and sprinted off up the snowy path. Patchfoot turned to Branchpaw and Tinypaw. "You two go and follow Leafstar's scent—see where she's gone. We need her back here. Stay together!" he called after them as they ran off. "Sagepaw, go to the warrior's den and bring out the other warriors, I need to talk to them. Then," he mewed as Sagepaw scampered up the path, "I'm going to find Sharpclaw myself. I'm not sure what to make of this, but you two have some good ideas... Rockpaw, you need to guard the medicine den, just in case, and Sparkpaw, you can go stand guard on the Skyrock—"

"What about my brother?" interrupted Rockpaw angrily.

"We'll find him," replied Patchfoot grimly. Cherrytail and Clovertail were racing down the hill from their den, looking puzzled, followed by a very freaked-out looking Sagepaw. Sparkpaw nudged Rockpaw's shoulder as Patchfoot started explaining to the other two warriors.

"C'mon, we need to get going," she told him. He didn't move. "C'mon, Rockpaw, lets go," Sparkpaw said again.

"He wasn't all bad you know," whispered Rockpaw. "All you saw was his surly side. He was really a nice cat. Bouncepaw."

"What do you mean, '_was_'?" demanded Sparkpaw. "He's just not in camp right now! For all we know, he's on patrol with Leafstar! We have to go! Come on!" He stared at Sparkpaw with a look of such terror that she broke off. "_What?"_

"Sparkpaw," Rockpaw said, "he didn't really hate you, he was just..."

"He _did _hate me, and he still hates me now, because if you don't get moving, _now, _I am going to kick your fuzzy butt from now to the next half-moon," Sparkpaw told him. "Now let's _go."_ He nodded, seemingly knocked out of his trance by her words, and got to his feet.

Sparkpaw watched him go before turning and trudging up the path, feeling weak and drained of all her energy, and yet supercharged and ready to explode, she was so nervous. The figure keeping watch was standing stock-still, and Sparkpaw wondered if they saw something. Who _was _keeping watch anyway?

"Sparkpaw!" It was Sparrowpelt. He was loping down the hill, and he slid to a halt beside her. "At first I thought they weren't fox tracks, because I thought I could see cat tracks in there, but there's no mistaking that smell, right? Then I saw where they all lead off to, and they go the way to that field where you guys were yesterday. I'd estimate they came sometime this morning from the age of the scent and the tracks. You think?"

"I don't know," Sparkpaw said. "I didn't get a very good look at them. Patchfoot's down there organizing the patrols and plans and stuff, so..."

"Yeah, I'll go talk to him," mewed Sparrowpelt. "See you later!"

"'Bye!" she called after him as he ran down the hill. With a sigh, Sparkpaw turned and climbed up the rest of the way, stopping beneath the Skyrock. She bunched her muscles and leapt, soaring through the air and landing on the huge slab of stone.

She looked at the guard to say something, and almost fell off again.

The thin layer of ice on top of the snow broke under her feet as she walked slowly towards the cat, who was facing the place where the tracks were, crouching in snow up to his chest. A look of horror was dawning on his face. As Sparkpaw stepped onto the ice next to him, it broke, and he fell over. The snow in front of him was red.

With blood.

As he rolled stiffly over, Sparkpaw saw with horror that his neck fur was red and matted. He was dead.

And it was Bouncepaw.


	19. Chapter 18: Eyes

****

Chapter 19: Eyes

The stars blinked sympathetically down at him, moonlight sweeping the clouds and bathing the world in silver light and sharp-edged shadows.

He opened his eyes and blinked at his surroundings, his fur tingling with fire and his heart burning like ice. He stared at the arching clouds edged in fiery silver, the whispering trees whose bare branches swayed beneath them in the cold moonlight, at the unfamiliar stones around him glittering with frost.

And suddenly a creeping chill filled him.

His heart was pounding, and his fur was moving in the chill wind; his whiskers twitched and his ears felt so cold he thought they would fall off, but hewasn'tfeeling_—_he was _watching._

The tom _knew_ he was cold and he _knew _his tail was moving,but he was _watching_ _himself_, he realized. He felt this cat's feelings and heard his every thought, but he wasn't part of his body anymore. His thoughts were growing quieter, his feelings becoming fainter...

He was leaving.

The clouds grew closer, the trees spots on the eerie landscape below, the moonlight filled with a cold so deep it was like fire, and as the first stars began to brush his spirit's pelt, the cat below him suddenly froze. He stared in horror as a cat, a familiar tabby tom, bounded towards the cat he had once been, and the sharp landscape below resolved itself like mist clearing from the sea.

The snow sprayed from beneath Sharpclaw's paws as the deputy leapt towards him, looking panicked. The apprentice gasped, staring in terror at the figures behind his deputy as they bounded towards the Skyrock. Suddenly, Sharpclaw stopped, and the foxes surged forward, falling on the crouching apprentice's cold figure. With a quick blow, the leading fox slashed at the small tabby's throat.

He convulsed and choked, almost collapsing, coughing up blood and staring at Sharpclaw with terror and pain—_Why, Sharpclaw? Why... me? why... _

Half buried in the snow, the apprentice could do nothing as Sharpclaw towered over him, eyes full of malice and a horrible smile curling his lip. The apprentice tried to shrink back, but the snow had frozen around him, blood spreading on it like curling fronds of bracken.

Sharpclaw smiled.

"See you in StarClan," he hissed. And with a flash of blood-red, Bouncepaw's vision went blank.

The spirit of the cat was rising into the clouds, twisting and trying to go back and help him, save himself from his own death, but Bouncepaw couldn't turn back. It was too late now.

The only direction now was up.

* * *

"No miss, they have no idea. They are blinded by their own self-assurance of trust among themselves," growled the amber-eyed warrior. "They are gullible enough."

"Are you sure that you aren't as well?" asked his leader. Her sharp green eyes glowed in the midnight darkness.

"Oh yes," he said. "They trust me like kits—all except Rockpaw and _Sparkpaw, _that is, the annoying little twits. But they aren't a threat; no cat believes the _apprentices."_

"You are underestimating her _again,"_ hissed the leader venomously. "Overlooking her personality and the convenient '_gullibility'_ of her clanmates. _They—will—believe—her. _You mousebrained idiot, don't you see? The sturdiest, most trustworthy and likable and _believable _warrior of SkyClan is her good friend! _Patchfoot_! Her mentor is _Leafstar, _for '_StarClan's' sake,_ as you cats like to say, the _leader _of the _clan_!"

"Not for long," growled the warrior. "Miss, their plan is simple—an outright attack and a fallback defense force. They are depending, however, on one _apprentice_ to relay messages back and forth. They are depending on _one apprentice. _They will decide the outcome of the battle."

"Then our plan will be simple," growled the leader.

* * *

"Rockpaw? Rockpaw, c'mon, wake up. Today's the day." Branchpaw's mew tore into Sparkpaw's dream with icy claws. She groaned and rolled over, kicking Rockpaw in the side. He gave a muffled grunt.

"Okay, okay, I'm getting up..." she heard him mew. Sparkpaw rose and stretched, shaking off bits of moss and blinking in the harsh white sunlight as it glanced off the snow outside. Branchpaw caught her eye and waved his tail in greeting.

"Good morning," he said. She nodded, catching the look in his eye that haunted that of every cat in the clan—sorrow, fear, determination, loyalty... His green eyes shot her back to her dream form the night before, and Sparkpaw racked her brains to remember what she'd seen...

'_Last night, tomorrow night, tonight...' _

A voice whispered like a feather beside her ear, and Sparkpaw jerked her head up as hundreds of images flashed across her closed eyelids—

_She was a kit, just a moon old, being carried away from her mother..._

_She was lying in the twoleg's lap, purring..._

_She was streaking across a bare brown lawn, running from home..._

_She was leaping off the high wall in Teddy's yard..._

_Battling Tinypaw under the tree—_

_Catching her first prey—_

_Chasing the monster that carried her friend away—_

_Speaking to the clan—_

_A Gathering—_

_Green eyes—_

_The fox—_

_Bouncepaw's last stare—_

'_The night speaks, the night whispers, the night will swallow like a current...'_

The whispering voices and flashing pictures filled her mind and ears every time she blinked. Sparkpaw struggled to concentrate as Leafstar addressed them with a solemn voice, and fearful whispers swept the crowd like currents. Sharpclaw came forward and addressed the crowd as well, trying to give them words of hope as they faced the battle. He reviewed their plans, and they rose and followed him and Leafstar out of camp.

Ascending the path towards the Skyrock, the cats' lean figures cast long shadows in the icy sunset. Sparkpaw could feel the tension in the air like a branch too weak to support her, about to snap. She tried to walk delicately on the thin branch, treading with long, light steps, breathing slowly...

Sparkpaw closed her eyes and exhaled, but instantly a thousand images played across her eyelids—

_Teddy, trying to escape his cage—_

_The twoleg female closing the door on little Phoenix—_

_The rain pouring down on the nest's windows—_

_The bloody snow on the Skyrock—_

She gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut. She needed to _concentrate. _How was she supposed to invade the foxes' dens if her mind was wandering?

SkyClan rose over the crest of the ravine, and prepared to split into two groups, one led by Leafstar and one by Sharpclaw. Branchpaw, Tinypaw, Clovertail, and Sparrowpelt were in Sharpclaw's group, which would wait for the foxes' attack near camp, while Rockpaw, Sagepaw, Cherrytail, Petalnose, Patchfoot, and Leafstar would lure the foxes out into the open. Sparkpaw had what Leafstar had stressed was the most important job: messenger. She would run Leafstar and Sharpclaw's orders from the foxes' territory to their own.

"'Bye, guys," Branchpaw said to Rockpaw, Sparkpaw and Sagepaw in an undertone; Sparkpaw would be starting in the foxes' territory.

"'Bye," Sagepaw mewed.

"Good luck," added Sparkpaw. Rockpaw nodded, his face dark. Since his brother's death, he had lost what little lightheartedness he'd had, always quiet and grim, his blue eyes deep pools of thought, tinged with sorrow.

"You too," put in Tinypaw. "You're gonna need it."

"Yeah," agreed Sagepaw and Sparkpaw at once. Rockpaw nodded. They waved their tails and followed Leafstar and Patchfoot's group towards the foxes' territory.

Ever since Bouncepaw's death, the clan had become quieter, more subdued, but with an undercurrent of focused determination. They would defeat these foxes.

Even if it was the last thing they ever did.

Sparkpaw stared after Branchpaw as he trudged away, feeling her heart pounding against her ribs. He turned and smiled encouragingly at her, as if he could feel her watching him.

Suddenly, something inside Sparkpaw's chest felt like it vanished. The weight of what she was going to do seemed to lighten, and her stormy eyes were suddenly open a bit wider.

Something changed in that sunlit heartbeat, as if part of her had become as open and clear as a winter sky.

Her gaze moved slowly to Rockpaw, who was watching her closely. His sad blue eyes loosened and Sparkpaw could see every feeling swirling behind them for a split second. Sad, happy, determined, angry, exhausted, and one other feeling she couldn't quite grasp—

But she didn't need to. She could feel it too.

Slowly, Sparkpaw turned and followed the clan towards the battle of their lives.

* * *

They moved with practiced silence, like they were hunting.

Their eyes darted nervously around the boulders scattered across the open field and the pebbles shifted beneath their paws. They searched in vain for a tuft of fur, a single extended claw, or a pair of eyes staring straight back at them.

They didn't see the gray-blue ones glaring at them from behind a rock until it was too late.

With a horrid screech, Sparkpaw launched herself at the leading fox, snarling and spitting murderously. She turned just in time to see a ball of orange fur and claws throwing itself at her before her eyes were being clawed. The fox screeched as Sparkpaw landed square in her face, spitting like a snake. Her hind claws tore her opponents eyelid, and the female fox roared, batting a huge paw at Sparkpaw.

Sparkpaw twirled out of her way and swiped a paw at her nose. Around them cats and foxes were writhing balls of fur, blood and screeches flying everywhere. Sparkpaw didn't know why she'd volunteered to jump out first, when she was supposed to be the messenger, and she certainly hadn't been aiming for the biggest, scariest, leading fox.

Oh well.

Sparkpaw wasn't outmatched, anyway. The leader tried to pounce on her, rolling and twisting and feinting swipes at Sparkpaw, but it didn't work. The apprentice darted nimbly around her opponent's paws, nipping and clawing, making her madder and madder. Finally the fox just dropped on top of her, using her weight to crush the little cat.

With a gasp, Sparkpaw felt the air whoosh out of her lungs. She choked, her vision clouding. Sneering, the fox rolled over and pulled the half-conscious Sparkpaw across the dirt. Glaring down at her, the leader felt a laugh rise in her throat. She had her.

"Sparkpaw, Sparkpaw," she growled, "who will save you now?"

Sparkpaw opened her eyes dimly and saw the leader's evil stare. _So she knows, _thought Sparkpaw, _she knows I know... about... Sharpclaw... _Then, with a gasp, Sparkpaw _saw_ _her_ _stare_. _This is_ _the end... _she thought. She could see it in the leader's eyes.

_Her bright green eyes._


	20. Chapter 19: Omen

_**Chapter 20: **_**Omen**

The blood-red shadows of the sunset were like an omen.

Long white teeth bared, the fox leader raised her paw. Sparkpaw squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to witness her own death.

Suddenly, Sparkpaw's vision filled with stars. A whisper fluttered around her ears, and it said, _follow your heart, Phoenix. _

Suddenly, her lungs filled with air and her eyes snapped open. Sparkpaw felt as if her paws were on fire, her fur tingling with energy. Her spine snapped straight and she twisted like lightning out from under the fox's paw. Nipping the leader's ankle, Sparkpaw spat and sprinted off.

"Leafstar, Leafstar!" she yowled, charging through the mass of cats. "Leaf—_Leafstar!" _Sparkpaw gasped.

A huge fox was leaning, teeth bared, over Leafstar's motionless form. Blood was welling around her mentor's chest and neck, and her breathing was shallow.

"Sparkpaw... Sparkpaw..." she rasped. "Go... get... Sharp... Claw... tell him to... to..." Leafstar choked and broke off. Her chest stopped rising, and suddenly her eyes were blank.

"Leafstar!" cried Sparkpaw. "Leaf—"

Suddenly, the fox raised its front paw and snarled something in Fox at her. Then he slashed his claws down on Leafstar's throat, and Sparkpaw screamed, "No_! Leafstar!" _

"_Leafstar!" _yowled another voice. With a furious snarl, Patchfoot sailed through the air and landed on the fox's head. Spitting murderously, the black and white tom slashed its tawny ears and eyes. It roared and stumbled back. Sparkpaw sank down next to her mentor, her heart pounding.

"Leafstar..." she said, her voice cracking. Her leader stared up at her with glassy, unseeing eyes. Then she twitched, and her head jerked up. Leafstar coughed and choked, twisting weakly onto her side and staring up at Sparkpaw.

With a jolt, Sparkpaw saw that her leader's wounds were _gone. "_How—?" she spluttered. Leafstar coughed and shook her head.

"Not now, Sparkpaw," she whispered. "I'm healing, remember?" Sparkpaw nodded, trying to. "Tell Sharpclaw that there are... more foxes than we thought. Tell him to be ready for them... sooner. Go, Sparkpaw, and may StarClan be with you."

Sparkpaw nodded, her heart aching. Turning, she sprinted off into the gathering darkness.

* * *

The night air was cool, and the shadows of camp were longer sooner. The sun was still setting in the field above the ravine, but down in camp, the darkness had gathered into night already.

Mintpaw stared at the sunlight on the trees up where her clan was patrolling, bathed in blood-red. _Like an omen, maybe_, she reflected. She turned to her mentor.

"Echosong," she began, and her mentor turned, preparing herself for a long conversation, "do... do StarClan send omens to apprentices?"

"I don't see why not," replied Echosong. "Why—have you seen something?"

"Well... sort of," said Mintpaw, cocking her head at the tree bathed in blood-red sunlight. "Does something that everyone could see count?"

"I'm not sure, Mintpaw," her mentor smiled, "but we need to keep making these poultices; you know there will be injuries."

"Okay..." said Mintpaw. With one last glance up at the top of the ravine, she followed her mentor into their den.

She didn't see the foxes coming either.

* * *

Sparkpaw raced across the field, her heart pounding, her eyes streaming. She felt like a river about to flood with emotion, high-strung and uptight; every little sound made her jump in the still air of dusk. She spotted a cat.

"Hello!" she yowled. "_Hey! HELLO!"_

The cat turned and ran up to her. It was Branchpaw.

"Branchpaw!" Sparkpaw gasped. "Tell them—are you—where's Sharpclaw—?"

"Its okay, calm down," he told her. "They went this way, follow me."

Together they cantered across the snowy field, the dusk casting long blue shadows. Sharpclaw turned as they came up to the group.

"Sharpclaw! Leafstar said to—" Sparkpaw began, but she stopped. All her doubts suddenly filled her again, rushing back like a river, her distrust and her hatred and her fear of Sharpclaw; she knew she shouldn't trust him, she knew she couldn't.

So she wouldn't.

"Leafstar said," growled Sparkpaw, "to go fling yourself off a cliff."

The rest of the cats gasped. Sharpclaw's eyes flashed.

"You _little_—"

"You're a traitor and a liar and a power-hungry, cold-blooded, heartless murderer, Sharpclaw," hissed Sparkpaw. "_You _killed Bouncepaw and you tried to get Rockpaw and me killed by sending us to the top of the ravine, where you knew the foxes were, and—"

A dead silence had descended over the crowd. Sharpclaw walked straight up to Sparkpaw and thrust his head an inch from hers, his amber eyes as cold as Bouncepaw's had been when she had found him on the Skyrock.

"_Prove it," _he hissed.

"Not until you do as Leafstar says," spat Sparkpaw. "then maybe she'll consider letting you stay in the clan, demoted to a kit."

"you go too far, Sparkpaw" he growled. "you mousebrained kittypet, you just cant keep your nose out of anything, can you? I know you hate me because I hate you, _Phoenix_. That's no reason to blame an apprentice's death on _me. _The loss of Bouncepaw was tragic," Sharpclaw continued, now addressing the cats around them, "but now is our chance for revenge, and a chance for our clan to unite as a whole." He turned and glared straight into her eyes. "now," he growled, "I suggest you tell me what Leafstar said."

She lifted her head defiantly and resisted the urge to spit in his face. Sparkpaw turned and addressed the group.

"Cats of SkyClan," she said, "the foxes are—there are many more foxes than we thought there were, and that we must get ready to fight them _now_. Leafstar's group can only hold out a bit longer, so you guys need to—"

"Sparkpaw! _Sparkpaw!" _

An agonized yowl split the hushed silence. Sparkpaw and Branchpaw whirled around.

"The foxes! _They're coming_!"

Rockpaw was sprinting flat out across the snowy field towards them, and behind him loped the pack of snarling foxes. Blood stained their fur, and their wild eyes glowed in the sunset.

"Rockpaw!" yelled Branchpaw.

"Guys, fan out and brace yourselves!" Sparkpaw barked at the cats behind them.

The foxes hit them like a wave. Rockpaw skirted around as soon as he was next to Sparkpaw, and flanked by him and Branchpaw, Sparkpaw led the group into battle. She lost sight of her companions and clanmates as the foxes descended upon them, snarling and growling.

The stench of fox and blood filled Sparkpaw's nose as she fought one off, diving around it and clawing and nipping at it until it turned and loped off, howling.

But another fox instantly threw itself at her, and Sparkpaw was again dodging blows, nipping and rolling and diving and clawing until it finally ran off.

The tide of foxes seemed never to end. Fox after fox, it seemed, faced Sparkpaw, and fox after fox sprinted off howling. Her head was pounding, and each time, it seemed, she took longer to fend them off. Her paws felt like they weighed as much as a fox, and her body was covered with cuts and splotches of blood.

Finally, as the number of foxes began to dwindle, a surge of cats filled the pack. Bloodstained and angry, the other half of SkyClan wove among the foxes, biting and snarling. Slowly, the foxes began to fold under the weight of the cats' persistence.

Several long moments later, Sparkpaw backed away from her last opponent. A few foxes were still battling, but the warriors fighting them were fine. Then a yowl split the air.

"Sparkpaw!" screamed Rockpaw's voice from somewhere behind her. "_Help!" _

She whirled around. Rockpaw was cornered by the hulking figure of a fox, none other than the foxes' leader, _right_ _at_ _the_ _edge of the ravine._

"Rockpaw!" Sparkpaw yowled. And without a thought, Sparkpaw turned and charged towards them. "_Rockpaw_!"

The fox's head whipped around, and she saw Sparkpaw careening towards her. With a sneer she let go of Rockpaw and turned to meet her. Rockpaw squirmed out of the way.

And just in time.

Sparkpaw bowled into the fox, who yelped as they collided.

_And then she and Sparkpaw plunged off the edge of the ravine. _

The air whipped silently past her as she fell. The long shadows of sunset were darker down here, but a single long ray of red sunlight fell across the rocks.

Sparkpaw couldn't hear a thing; not the cold air in her ears, nor Rockpaw's agonized cries as she fell.

The fox hit the ground first, and with a final yelp, departed from this life forever.

Sparkpaw saw the first stars coming out in the cloudless sky, and for a second she was free, flying and soaring blissfully.

Then the ground came up to meet her.

* * *

The blood-red shadows of the sunset were an omen.

If only they had realized.


	21. Epilogue

_**Epilogue**_

The long ray of blood-red sunlight fell across the rocks like a gash. The hushed silence of night was beginning to fall like a shroud around Sparkpaw's body. A starry spirit stared down at her.

"She was young," he murmured. "Too young to have to make such a decision."

Another appeared beside him.

"But she did," he said. "She was faced with a choice, and she chose."

"But did she choose right?" Rainfur wondered rather than asked. "I suppose only time will tell."

"Well, whatever happens," Bouncepaw said, with the ghost of a smile, "She followed her heart."

**The End**


	22. Little Author's Note About the Sequel

**Author's Note**

**(Sorry that this is a false alarm and not a chapter, but...) As you may or may not have guessed from the large 'The End' at the bottom of the _EPILOGUE, _this story is over. However, as of 10:03 PM today, there is a sequel. But it may not be what you expect... please take a look at "StarClan's Tale."**

**Also, the... you know... dedication thing. This one is dedicated to you guys for sticking with me as ****I started to ramble a bit/a lot, and to my 7th grade math teacher, for allowing a long enough lull in her classroom for the idea to pop into my head at all. Thank you, guys! **

**Smiles to all,**

**-Mo0ny**


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